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by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dean has a son, F/F, Falling In Love, Family, Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Homeless Dean, M/M, Omega Dean, Prompt Fic, Protective Dean Winchester, Teacher Castiel, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 11:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12386784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Cas is a kindergarten teacher with a passion for teaching.  He loves his job and the chance to shape young minds.  At the beginning of the school year, one of his student stands out to him for several reasons.One: The boy is very bright, picking up on everything he is teaching and learning it all very quickly.Two:  The boy is also clearly very poor.When the young man he initially mistook for an older brother turns out to be the boy's father comes to pick him up during the bitter cold of an early winter wearing a jacket that isn't keeping him warm, Cas can no longer just stand by and watch.  He steps in and does something about it.





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**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt I got out of a Facebook group, and it's been finished for a couple of weeks now, I've just been so busy with all the other fics I've been writing that I haven't had the time to put this one up. But I thought I'd take the time today and put this one up. Here you go, and I hope you all enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

 

Cas smiled as he watched his new students line up on the playground.  This summer had been nice, but he was glad to be back again.  Tess, one of the other kindergarten teachers, liked to tease him that he wouldn’t always be so eager to come back.  He disagreed though.  

 

Looking down, he counted 27 names on his list.  A quick headcount told him there were 26 kids in his line. Lastly, a little girl with bouncy blonde curls hurried over and got into his line.  It looked like they were all there for once.  

 

“Ok, hello, class, I’m Mr. Novak, and I will be your teacher this year.  I’m going to call your name.  When I do, you will come and form a line behind me.”  Bright eyes were looking up at him as dozens of parents watched from the sidewalk.

 

“Abriel Montez.”

 

A little girl with dark pigtails darted out of the line and hurried to stand behind him.

 

“Arthur Nobles.”

 

A little boy in an Avengers shirt was next to get behind him.  

 

“Benjamin Solomon.”

 

A little black boy actually danced out of the line before running to get in line behind Arthur.  Cas chuckled and shook his head.

 

“Benjamin Winchester.”

 

A little boy with a head full of dark hair stepped tentatively out of the line and peered up at him.

 

“Are you Benjamin Winchester?”

 

“N-no one calls me that.  My name is Ben,” the boy replied softly.

 

“That’s ok, Ben, we’ll do real introductions when we get inside and learn what everyone likes to be called.  Come over here and get in line,”  Cas encouraged.  Ben nodded, hitching his backpack higher and moving to stand behind him.  As he passed by, Cas noticed he had one of the plastic, see-through backpacks offered through the local shelters and food pantries.  He turned his attention back to the list.  The names were in alphabetical order by first name.  

 

“Chloe Salazar.”

 

After accounting for all of the students, Cas walked his class inside.  The first day was always spent getting the kids used to a classroom, as many had never been inside one before, and establishing their personal spaces.  He set each student up with their own cubby and explained that each day they would hang their backpacks and coats up inside it, and whatever papers they had to bring home to their parents, they would store in their cubby as well.  Then it came time to divide the children up at the tables.

 

Each table held six students, and there were five tables.  He tried to mix it up, putting an even number of boys and girls at each table.  As the year progressed he would learn which ones were learning ahead of the curve that other teachers would generally accuse of being troublemakers, and he would work with them more to see how much 1 st grade material they could handle.  That was one of the most thrilling parts of his job, seeing which kids were the brightest and could possibly be advanced.

 

By the end of the school day he’d had them finish several worksheets as well as do their introductions.  Both Bens wanted to be called Ben, so the first Ben became Ben S.  After getting everyone to put their worksheets in their backpacks and line up at the door, it was time to head outside.  He smiled as he handed each child over to their parent or caretaker, making a point as he did every year to memorize the face of every person who came to pick up one of his students.  The young man that came to pick Ben Winchester up looked as happy to see Ben as Ben was to see him.

 

“Look what I did today!  I wrote my  _ name _ !”

 

“You sure did, buddy, but you already knew how to do that.”  The man laughed.  “You’re so smart, I bet you’ll be doing calculus by next week.”

 

“What’s cal…cal…calkiss?”  Ben asked.

 

The man laughed and ruffled his hair.  “It’s super hard math.  Your Uncle Sam used to do it with his eyes closed.”

 

“I wanna do calkiss!”  Ben exclaimed.  He turned to his teacher.  “Are we gonna do that?”

 

“I’m afraid not.  Calculus is too advanced for most kindergartners, I’m afraid.”  Cas was amused, even by the boy’s crestfallen look.  “But if you work hard, you can learn it in just a few short years.  Or, if you  _ really _ work hard, you can teach yourself how to do it.”

 

“Do you know how to do it?”  Ben asked.

 

Cas shrugged.  “A little.  I took it in school.  I liked English better.”

 

“Come on, kiddo.”  The man put an arm around Ben’s shoulders and began leading him away.  Cas wondered if he was Ben’s older brother.  He had such a youthful face, very attractive and full of the same vibrancy as Ben.  Perhaps one day soon he’d learn their relationship.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

By Thursday, Cas was noticing a pattern.  He always noticed patterns in everything, from the number of times Stacey Lindberg clicked her pen before she actually graded a paper to the number of parent groups that were already forming (four), and he noticed that of the four days this week that he’d taught so far, Ben Winchester had worn the same pair of pants three out of those four days.  Now, that was not that big of a deal.  Some kids, they were particular about a specific pair of pants and that was all they wanted to wear.  But he’d also worn the same shirt twice this week too.  He continued his observations the following week.  It wasn’t that he was singling out Ben Winchester, he really wasn’t.  He studied and observed all his students with the same scrutiny.  It was how he noticed any behavioral issues, developmental delays, or anything else he or their parents should be concerned about.  Ben was an exceptional student with a thirst for knowledge and by the time parent teacher conferences were rolling around, he knew Ben was one he would begin giving first-grade materials to.  The boy was extremely intelligent, and he suspected his parents were probably working with him at home quite a bit.

The night of the conferences, it was raining and the last person on his list for that night was one Dean Winchester.  He didn’t know why the mother wasn’t coming in too.  Perhaps she had to work.  When the young man that always came to pick Ben up walked through the door soaking wet, Cas got to his feet.  Ben was with him, just as drenched.

“I’m sorry, it’s uh, really coming down out there,” the young man apologized.

“I understand, please, come sit down.  You are…”

“Dean.  I’m Ben’s dad,” he said as he sat down across from Cas and motioned for Ben to sit down next to him.

“Dad,”  Cas echoed, looking at him in surprise.

“Yeah, I get it, I look younger than I am.  Can we get to how he’s doing?”  Dean asked.  He was busy wiping the water off his son’s face.

“Of course.  Well, actually, Ben’s one of my best students.  He’s excelling in everything I’ve taught so far, and I’ve actually started giving him a few worksheets so he can work ahead. He absorbs everything very quickly, but most importantly, he understands it.  He has a natural thirst for knowledge, and I am trying to encourage it.”

Dean was beaming as he looked down at his son.  Ben smiled right back at him.

“You hear that?  He says you’re super smart, just like your Uncle Sam.”

“I am smart, Daddy.  One day I’m gonna get a job like a doctor and I’m gonna get us a big house.  I want a house, don’t you, daddy?”

Dean’s smile faltered, and he had to force it back onto his face.  “Sure, sweetheart.  You’ll make all your dreams come true.”

Ben giggled and clapped his hands excitedly, so full of that wonderful childhood innocence as he turned to look up at his teacher.

“I want to get a big house for me and Daddy, and no one’s ever gonna hurt Daddy or tell us we gotta leave.”

“That’s enough, Ben, Mr. Novak doesn’t want to hear about that. He wants to tell me how smart you are, and the stuff he’s going to teach you,” Dean cut his son off abruptly. Cas frowned, wondering what the boy meant by that.

“Tell Daddy about my math.  I did real good, right?”

Cas smiled.  Ben was so sweet and eager for praise.  “Of course you did.  Ben got the highest grade in the class on his last five math papers.  I’ve begun giving him papers meant for the first-grade students, and he’s still getting 100%.  Do you work with him a lot at home?”

Dean flinched at the word home but then slowly nodded.  “I work with him a lot.  We, uh, don’t have a television, so we work on his writing and math, but history too.  We spend a lot of time at the library.”

Cas had some alarm bells going off, but he didn’t want to scare Dean off, not when Ben was making such wonderful progress.

“Well, whatever you’re doing, keep it up; he’s doing phenomenal.”

That beaming smile was back on Dean’s face once more.  “Yeah?”

“Yes, absolutely.  If he continues with this progress, I will be recommending a meeting to have him tested to see if he should be moved up to second grade next year,”  Cas said.

“No way!”  Dean exclaimed.  He looked down at his son, who was waiting for some sort of explanation.  “Dude, he says you’re super smart!  Maybe even smarter than Uncle Sammy!”

“Wow!”  the little boy squeaked.  Cas laughed, happy to see them both so excited.

“What else should I be working with him on?  Give me some suggestions, and I’ll do it.  I don’t want my kid to ever have to struggle, not like I do.”  There was pain in Dean’s words and on his face. It pulled at Cas to hear and see.  He pulled a paper out of the stack on his desk and slid it over to him.

“This is what we will be covering.  He already has a pretty good grasp, but if you get it down solid for him, he’ll be more than ready for more-advanced first-grade material.”

“I’ll do it. He can read too, real good. You take him to the school library, I know, cause he shows me the books.  He reads them all by himself.  I taught him to read when he was three. He’s been reading for years now,” Dean said.

“Yes, he’s one of my more advanced readers too.  He has recently been tested, and he’s reading already at a fourth-, almost a fifth-grade level.  That is incredible for a six year old.”  

That proud smile was back.  Dean kissed the top of his son’s head again.  If there was one thing Cas did not doubt, it was the love this man had for his child.

“I’ll work with him, I promise.  I want him to do his very best and become everything he’s ever dreamed of.”  

“With loving, supporting parents, I don’t see how Ben could ever fail.”  Cas smiled.  Dean stood up and Ben did too.

“We gotta stay in the car, Daddy?”

“Not tonight, buddy,”  Dean said, dropping his voice.  Another alarm bell went off for Cas as Dean bid him goodnight and they headed out into the chilly, rainy night.  Where was Ben’s mother?  Did Ben even have one?  He hadn’t smelled Dean, even drenched, so he hadn’t picked up on his orientation, not that it was any of his business, but he couldn’t help but wonder.  Could it be possible that the man was a single Omega trying to raise his son on his own?  Dean said he was older than he looked, but he couldn’t possibly be  _ that _ much older, which meant he’d been just a pup when he’d had Ben.  

Great, now he was worried about a man he barely knew and a boy he had come to care for.  His brother would tell him he was an idiot if he knew.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Winter hit hard that year, and the snow fell thick early. Cas worried every morning that he saw Dean dropping Ben off.  Ben had a coat, worn out as it was, but Dean was dressed in a thin flannel and canvas jacket, his arms wound tightly around himself as he saw his son off to school every morning.  He couldn’t help but wonder if Dean was staying warm, or if he had enough to eat.  

After the initial first day of school, which had been a half day, the kindergartners attended full day like everyone else.  Cas began watching to see what Ben did in the lunchroom.  Mostly he devoured his food, but sometimes he would ask the other kids if they planned to eat something that sat lingering on their trays.  If they said no, he would carefully take the food and tuck it into his pocket.  That broke his heart further and a few weeks before Christmas, when the weather was starting to really turn bitter, he made sure to pack up the moment he got the kids ready to go.  After walking them all out, he tried to hand them all off as quickly as possible, save for Ben, whose dad was usually one of the last ones to come and get him.  Dean looked like he was freezing as he entered the school playground, and his teeth were chattering.

“Hey, sorry I’m r-running a little l-late, it’s so c-cold out here.”  Dean grabbed Ben and hugged him, as if he could steal some of his son’s warmth just by holding him close.

“Not a problem.  Did you walk?  Would you like me to give you a ride?  You’re going to get sick in this weather.” 

“N-no!  I mean, we’re ok, w-we can w-walk.”  Dean was shaking as he took his son’s hand but Ben pulled away before he could take it.

“I’m cold, Daddy.  Can’t Mr. Novak give us a ride to the McDonald’s?”

“McDonald’s?”  Cas asked.

“Uh huh, the shelter says we can’t go in til seven,”  Ben replied honestly.  Cas’ stomach sank.

“Ben!”  Dean looked up at the teacher in horror.  Cas could see the terror on the man’s face.

“You’re staying…in a homeless shelter?”

“Yep,”  Ben answered cheerfully.

“Oh my god…”  Dean covered his face with his hands, which were bone white and shaking.  Cas took his coat off and draped it over his shoulders.

“What are you d-doing?”

“You’re getting frostbite.  You can’t be out here in this weather and if it’s the McDonald’s I think it is, that’s more than two miles away.  You cannot expect Ben to walk that in this frigid weather.  Where are your belongings?  I know the shelter won’t let you keep them there.”  Cas was not letting this man fight him on this.  Dean pulled the coat tighter around his shoulders as he stared at him.

“Don’t worry, I’m not telling the school squat, but I’m also not letting you suffer.  So where is your stuff?”

“In a storage unit,”  Dean replied.

“Then let’s go get your stuff.  Tonight you’re coming to stay at my house.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean was eyeing him warily on the drive to the storage facility, but Ben was happily singing in the backseat.

“What?”  Cas asked, glancing over at him.

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing.”

“You want something.  Everyone wants something.”

“I want nothing, except maybe to help you and your son,”  Cas replied.

“Why?”

“Because today the temperature reached a high of 17.  In December.  You’re dressed for September, and I’m betting your fingers hurt like heck right now as they warm up, don’t they.”  Cas could see the way Dean kept flexing them.  He knew they had to be stinging something fierce.  “When is the last time you had an honest to god, home-cooked meal?”

“When my mother was alive,”  Dean replied.

“When was that?”

“When I was 12.”

Cas felt his stomach drop.  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok.  I had my dad still for a few more years.  He died when I was 15.  Then my brother got taken away.  I ran before they could take me.  I was pregnant with Ben and they were talking about taking  _ my _ pup and putting him up for adoption, like I had no say in the matter.  No one tells me what I’m going to do with  _ my _ kid.”  

So Dean was an Omega like Cas had suspected, and a single parent.  That put him around 21.  He was older than he looked.  At first he’d estimated the man to be only around 17 or 18.

“I’ll be 22 next month, in case you’re sitting over there doing the math in your head.”  

Cas blushed but kept his eyes on the road.  “Where is the storage facility?”

“Up ahead, on the right.  I have a tiny $15 a month one.  I work part time at a garage and use the money to pay for this, and a gym membership, so Ben and me can take showers.  We mostly eat at McDonald’s when we can.”  Dean dropped his head in embarrassment.

“I brought you a brownie, Daddy,”  Ben piped up from the backseat.  Dean smiled weakly at his son.  It broke Cas’ heart further as he realized the boy was bringing food home for his father, not for himself.

“Get your things, you’ll be staying at my house from now on.  I have a three bedroom house and I live alone.  I expect nothing from you, except for you to do whatever it takes to better yourself and get a good paying job so you can actually support yourself and Ben.  You can keep whatever money you make at the garage, eliminate your costs of fast food, the storage unit, and the gym.  Save every dime and use it to get back on your feet.”

“Why are you doing this?”  Dean demanded.  He leaned over to sniff at Cas’ arm, but the man wore blockers at work.  Some of the parents liked to hit on him while others had an issue with an Alpha teaching kindergarten.  Keeping his orientation out of the equation usually kept the parents focused on their children’s education and not on him.  “What are you?  I can’t even smell you.”

“I am an Alpha, if you must know, but I am not doing this for any other reason than that I see a family in need of help getting back on their feet, and I am in a position to offer that help.  Do you really want to spend night after night sitting in a McDonald’s getting harassed by nasty, sexist Alphas while you try not to let your innocent son see them do that to you?  Just so you can bide your time waiting to  _ maybe _ get a bed in a shelter that doesn’t always have the room?  What do you do on the nights it’s full up?”

Dean dropped his head in shame.  “We sneak into the storage unit.  It’s heated.”

“This storage unit?  It’s barely big enough for a grown man.”  Cas frowned when he pulled up in front of the one Dean had told him to.  Dean got out with his key and opened the unit.  All that was inside were two duffel bags.  Cas got out to accept them and place them in the trunk.

“This is a fresh start for you, I promise.”

“I still don’t understand  _ why _ .”  Dean frowned.

“Because I see what a good dad you are.  You’re raising this amazing little boy with barely any resources at hand, and he’s brilliant.  He is so loved, and it shows in every single thing you do for him.  I wish I could say that about all of my students, but I can’t.  I can see that you would do anything for your son, and I would like the opportunity to help you in your journey.  I want to help you make that happen.”  Cas believed in honesty, and he spoke earnestly.  He really hoped Dean believed him because it was  _ freezing _ out here.  A soft smile formed on the other man’s mouth.  

“Yeah, I would do anything for him.  He’s my everything.”

“I know that.  Now, let’s go home and I’ll get dinner started.”  

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“How come you have a house this nice?  I thought teachers were broke?”  Dean asked as Cas led them in through the garage into the kitchen.

“Well, this was my parents’ house, and they are both passed away.  I inherited it.  My siblings are both mated with families and homes of their own, and I was living in a two bedroom condo by myself, with two cats.  My mother passed away in 2012, and my father passed away in 2016.  The house is mine, free and clear.”

“I like your house, Mr. Novak,”  Ben said as he took his coat off.  Dean took it from him before he could drop it.

“Um, where can I hang this up?”

“Right through here.”  Cas led them into the living room and over to a row of hooks on the wall.  “Ben, you hang your coat up here, ok?  Shoes go on the floor underneath.”

Ben nodded and began toeing his shoes off.  His socks had holes in the toes, and Dean was clearly embarrassed about that.

“It’s a simple fix; I have a needle and thread,”  Cas offered.

“I’ve never sewn anything in my life,”  Dean admitted.

“Let’s throw his socks in the wash,  _ then _ sew them.  It’s sort of gross to sew dirty socks,”  Cas said.  Dean chuckled and nodded.

“That’s true.  Ben, strip off your socks, hand them over.”

Ben did as he was told, and then took back his coat to hang it up.

“Where can I do my homework?”

“At the kitchen table,”  Cas replied.  Ben took his backpack and disappeared into the kitchen.  Once they were alone, Cas turned to face Dean.  “Would you like to take a shower?”

“Maybe you could show me first where Ben and me are sleeping?”

“Of course, right this way.”  Cas took off his own shoes, and Dean did the same before passing through the living room.

“You have free range, any room of the house.  I have a den off the living room here that doubles as my office and as the library, but I keep a myriad of books in there, including children’s books as I switch out which ones I bring to school.  There is always reading material here for Ben, or for you, if you’re interested.  There is a bathroom on the first floor, but there is another on the second floor.  My bedroom is the master and it has its own bath, so you need not worry that I will walk in on you or Ben.”

They reached the second floor, and he opened the first door on the right.

“This is one of the bedrooms.  Each bedroom has ample closet space.  I shared this room with my brother Gabriel growing up which is why it’s done up in shades of red and blue.  His favorite color was red, mine was blue, so our mother made us compromise.”  

“Sounds like something my mother would have done.”  Dean chuckled.

“The closet is a walk-in.  I do not recommend ever mentioning anything about a boogeyman to Ben.  My brother was an asshole and had me terrified for several years that there was one living in our closet, until I got our dad to help me prank him.  Dad hid in the closet one night and turned on the light, opened the door, and came out dressed as this big, scary monster.  I pretended like I couldn’t see any of it.  I was eight, Gabe was twelve.  He wet the bed, he was so scared.  That was the last time he teased me about the boogeyman though.”  Cas smiled smugly as Dean went to check out the closet.

“Your brother sounds like a punk.”  Dean laughed.

“He was.  Still is, actually.  Hasn’t really grown up much.  Come on, I’ll show you the other bedroom.”

Dean followed him across the hall to the other room.

“I apologize for all the pink, but this was my sister Anna’s room,”  Cas said as he flipped on the light switch.

“Jesus, it’s like fairies threw up in here.”  Dean grimaced at all the pink that assaulted his eyes.

“I would not be offended if you wanted to repaint.  I just never got around to it.”

“Did she really like this much pink?”  Dean went to look out the window.  It gave a view of a spacious backyard.

“She did.  Now, she pretty much hates the color.”  Cas came up beside him, peering down at the falling snow.  “My yard extends around to the front.  It’s all enclosed, so Ben can play safely.”

“Which, uh, room is yours and which is the bathroom?”  Dean asked.

“Mine is the one next to this.  The bathroom is across the hall, next to the other bedroom.”

“I think I’ll sleep in here.  Ben hates pink, but mostly, if he’s down there in the yard, I can see him.  I like that,”  Dean decided.

“Alright, let’s go get your bags and get you settled, ok?”

Dean offered a tentative smile.  He was still wary of Cas’ generosity, and the Alpha hoped he could eventually get Dean to warm up to him and come to trust that intentions were honest and good.

“Ok.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean took a long, hot shower while Cas got started on dinner.  He hemmed and hawed over what to make that would impress Dean and Ben before deciding on lasagna.  It had probably been years since the Omega had eaten a decent one, and Ben had probably never had one at all.  When Dean came downstairs, Cas was sitting at the table watching Ben do another, more advanced worksheet.  His nostrils flared when he caught the scent of fertile, sweet Omega and he looked up to see Dean hovering in the doorway.  Apparently the man had been managing to swing a few bucks for blockers, and after his shower he hadn’t bothered to reapply them.  That either showed that he trusted Cas, or he believed Cas would expect something from him later, despite his promise that he would not.  

“Feel better?”

“Yep.  Your shower has great pressure.”

“Before you put Ben to bed tonight you should give him a bath.  I’ll pick up some pup-friendly soap tomorrow, unless you already have some,” Cas said.

“I have a little bit left.”  Dean took a few steps into the room, and Cas knew he was being tested.  Dean was checking his self-control.  When he remained in his seat and his scent didn’t change, the Omega relaxed and came to join them at the table.  “Whatcha working on?”

“Mr. Novak gave me some more math.  This is the harder stuff that Brittany and Nelson can’t do, but it’s easy for me.  Watch.”  Ben finished two more problems before smiling up at his dad.

“Great job!  You’re doing so well!”  Dean ruffled his son’s hair and watched him solve the rest of the problems on the page.

“These are second-grade math problems, and they come easily to him.  I think he might be a mathematical prodigy,” Cas said once Ben was finished.

“So is my brother.  Sam was always doing math way ahead of his grade.  I did too for a while.”  Dean frowned and shook his head a bit.  “Ben’s way smarter.  He’s going to go way further.”

“Hey Ben, how would you like to read a book?”  Cas asked.

“Yeah!” the boy exclaimed.  

Cas smiled as he stood up.  Ben got up too and followed Cas to the library.  Dean trailed along behind them, lingering in the doorway as the Alpha showed his son a variety of books he had available.  Once Ben had chosen a chapter book to read, they headed back towards the living room.

“You can go relax and read in there,” Cas said, pointing towards the living room.

“Thank you, Mr. Novak!”  Ben skipped into the living room and hopped up onto the couch, where he cracked open his book and started reading.  Cas didn’t think he’d have any problems reading it.  He motioned for Dean to follow him into the kitchen, where he pulled out a loaf of French bread.

“How do you feel about garlic bread?”

“I love it,”  Dean replied.  His stomach rumbled loudly, and he wrapped his arms around himself.

“Did you eat today?”

Dean looked away, clearly ashamed.  “No, I didn’t make enough yesterday to feed us both breakfast and pay for the storage space.”

“Here, eat a piece of fruit, it will tide you over until dinner,”  Cas pushed a bowl of apples and oranges closer and Dean selected an orange.  As he peeled it, Cas made the garlic bread.

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t get to graduate high school.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“How have you been supporting yourself and Ben?”

“I’m not a hooker, ok?”  Dean snapped.  His scent flared with something spicy, and Cas knew he’d pushed the wrong button.

“I never once implied that you were.  I simply asked  _ how _ have you been supporting yourself and a pup?  It can’t have been easy.”

“It hasn’t been.  It’s a little easier now that he’s in school, but it was next to impossible in the beginning.  I relied on friends at first, and I still have a couple that help me out when I really need it, but I try not to ask too much.  One, he, uh, wants favors in return, and I don’t want to give them.  I stopped asking him for help at all cause last time he asked me to be his mate.  He’s a nice guy and all, but I don’t have feelings for him like that, and I always thought I’d have what my parents have.  Guess that’s a pipe dream.  Maybe I should have just said yes.”  Dean’s shoulders sagged as he popped a piece of the orange into his mouth and chewed it.

“What was it they had?  True love?”  Cas asked.

“Yeah, but I guess that’s a selfish thought to have when I’ve got a kid to think about.  He’s gotta come first.”

“Who says you can’t find love when you have a child?  My parents did.  My father had a son from a previous relationship.  I have a brother Michael that is 12 years older than me.  He died in Iraq.  Roadside bombing eight years ago.”  Cas moved the bread to the oven and when he walked back over, Dean was cleaning up the crumbs from the bread and the orange, sweeping them into the garbage can.

“It’s the least I can do, cleaning up,” he said weakly.

“It’s appreciated.”  Cas leaned against the side of the counter and took a good look at him.  Dean was taller than him, though not by very much, but he was underweight.  He had dark circles under his eyes from what Cas was guessing was years of poor diet and not enough sleep.  God, what was he doing during his heats?  Where was he going during those?  That was an improper question though, and he had no right to ask it.  Instead, he wanted to know if Dean was interested in furthering his education.

“Are you interested in going back to school?”

“You mean like getting my GED?”

“Sure, or taking actual classes to get your degree.  It’s a rapid diploma.  I’ll look into it, but I think you could still qualify for it.  If not, the GED is still an option. From there you can go to college. A solid degree or licensing would get you a job in the field of your choice.  Do you know what you want to do?”  

Dean thought for a long moment.

“What did you want to do when you were a kid?”  Cas asked.

“I wanted to be a firefighter when I was a kid, but I don’t really want that anymore.  But, I’d still like to help people.  If I went to school to become a medic, how much money does that cost?”

“Well, let’s take this one step at a time.  Let me check the high school courses first, and we’ll get you enrolled in those.  From there I’ll get the information on the paramedic courses, but I’ll also look into any grants and scholarships I can find.  If there are any other career choices you’re interested in, let me know, and we’ll find the information on those too.”  

“You’re sure you want to help me?  To help Ben and me?”  Dean asked, cocking his head.  He was eyeing the Alpha again, like he couldn’t quite figure him out.  Cas smiled warmly.

“Yes, I’m sure.  You’re good people, and you deserve a break.  Do you work tomorrow?”

“No, they don’t have any hours to give me tomorrow.”  Dean frowned.

“Well, you’re welcome to sit back and relax here.  It’s Saturday, and I was planning to do some grocery shopping in the morning, but that was about it.  I don’t relish being out in that cold if I don’t have to be.”

“Maybe…I could read one of your books?”  Dean asked.

“Of course, go help yourself.”  Cas motioned towards the library and Dean flashed him a quick smile before padding out of the room.  A few minutes later Ben was walking in.

“Mr. Novak, I gots to go pee.”

“The correct way to ask is to say ‘I have to go pee’. And of course, the bathroom is this way.”  Cas took the boy by the hand and showed him to the bathroom. “Remember to wash your hands with soap when you’re finished.”

“Ok.”  Ben closed the door, and Cas headed back to the kitchen to check on the lasagna.  It felt nice having people in the house again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean insisted on helping set the table, and soon they were all sitting down to eat. Ben watched with interest as Cas cut a piece and placed it on his plate.

“What is it?”

“It’s called lasagna.  Your grandma used to make it, and it was delicious.  I bet Mr. Novak’s is delicious too.  It’s like spaghetti with meatballs.  You’ll like it,” Dean told him.  He waited and watched as his son took his first tentative bite.

“I like it.”  

“Good, cause you weren’t getting anything else.”  

“I know.  Eat what’s put in front of you or you don’t eat at all.” Ben echoed what his father had been telling him for years.  Dean looked embarrassed, but that had been their rule of survival for years. It had kept them alive.

“That’s right, buddy.  You eat up; it’s good food.”

“There’s some ice cream if you eat all your food,”  Cas said.  Ben gasped.

“Ice cream?  Daddy!  Can I have some?  Please?”

“Sure, but you have to eat everything on your plate.”

Ben did eat all his food, and to Dean’s surprise, he even ate a piece of garlic bread. Dean ate three pieces of lasagna and two pieces of garlic bread at Cas’ insistence while the Alpha pulled out a container of moose tracks ice cream.  Ben squealed in delight as a small bowl of ice cream was placed in front of him, and he looked up at his teacher with excitement dancing in his eyes.

“Thank you!  I love ice cream!”

Cas smiled as he began clearing the table but Dean was faster, grabbing them from him and starting on washing them.  The Alpha didn’t mind the help, so he just stored the leftovers.  

“What do you guys think you’ll want for dinner tomorrow?”

“Anything.  We’ll literally eat anything,”  Dean replied.  Ben nodded in agreement.  

“Well, do you guys like chicken?”  Cas asked.  

“Yes,” they both answered in unison.  Cas had never felt his heart ache as much as it did watching Dean with his son. They would eat anything because, he knew, sometimes, meals were probably hard to come by.  He knew Dean would not accept money from him either, and that he’d insist on pulling his weight around the house. None of that bothered him. All he wanted was for them to be safe and warm. That gave him an idea.  Christmas was coming.  Christmas break was only a week away.  If he didn’t upset Dean and chase him off, he knew exactly what he was going to get the man for Christmas, and what he was going to get Ben, too.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cas could hear Dean singing with Ben in the bathroom, and it brought a smile to his face. He watched as the Omega marched his freshly washed pup out of the bathroom a few minutes later and down the hall to the bedroom that he had once shared with Gabe.  The boy had flashed him a bright smile.  He’d been wearing an oversized tee shirt, probably one of Dean’s, and he looked adorable in it.  He was sure Dean could get himself settled, so he stepped into his own room and closed the door.  After brushing his teeth and changing into his pajamas, he curled up in bed with the book he’d been working on for the last week, digging back in for another few chapters.  The house was silent, save for the flushing of a toilet an hour later, a reminder that he was no longer alone.  He would have to continue to remind himself of that.

When his eyes had finally grown tired, he set the book on the nightstand and turned the lamp off.  As the winter winds howled outside, sleep finally took him, and he drifted off.  In the bedroom next door Dean lay awake, wondering what he had gotten himself into, and whether he and his pup really were as safe as Cas had made it sound.  He decided he’d give it until Christmas.  If Cas did anything sexual between now and Christmas, he’d pack Ben up and they’d just go back and deal with the shelter.  He really hoped the teacher was as honest and good as he seemed to be.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cas could hear Dean singing with Ben in the bathroom, and it brought a smile to his face. He watched as the Omega marched his freshly washed pup out of the bathroom a few minutes later and down the hall to the bedroom that he had once shared with Gabe.  The boy had flashed him a bright smile.  He’d been wearing an oversized tee shirt, probably one of Dean’s, and he looked adorable in it.  He was sure Dean could get himself settled, so he stepped into his own room and closed the door.  After brushing his teeth and changing into his pajamas, he curled up in bed with the book he’d been working on for the last week, digging back in for another few chapters.  The house was silent, save for the flushing of a toilet an hour later, a reminder that he was no longer alone.  He would have to continue to remind himself of that.

When his eyes had finally grown tired, he set the book on the nightstand and turned the lamp off.  As the winter winds howled outside, sleep finally took him, and he drifted off.  In the bedroom next door Dean lay awake, wondering what he had gotten himself into, and whether he and his pup really were as safe as Cas had made it sound.  He decided he’d give it until Christmas.  If Cas did anything sexual between now and Christmas, he’d pack Ben up and they’d just go back and deal with the shelter.  He really hoped the teacher was as honest and good as he seemed to be.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The weekend was fairly quiet, much to Cas’ surprise.  With a six year old in the house he’d expected a lot of noise and laughter, but the house was almost as silent as if he were there alone.  When he went in search of his house guests, he usually found them sitting in Dean’s room where there was a desk as well as the bed and dresser, and Ben liked sitting and looking out the window.

“Does he want to go outside and play?”  Cas had asked Saturday afternoon.

“I don’t have the stuff for him to really do that.  The food pantry gave out gloves and stuff, but it’s those thin ones, and he can’t play for long with those,”  Dean explained.

“Well, my parents kept everything from when we were kids.  I’m sure there’s stuff in the attic, including snowpants.  Why don’t we go look?  He can go run off some energy.  It’s not good for him to stay cooped up inside all the time. Come on.”  Cas motioned for them to follow him, and they headed to a door at the end of the hall.  Dean had assumed it was a linen closet based on how narrow it was, but when the Alpha opened it, there was a narrow staircase instead.

The attic was packed, filled with boxes, but Cas seemed to know what he was looking for.  He weaved between stacks of totes and boxes until he reaches ones marked “winter clothes.”

“These were mine and Gabe’s, those were Anna’s.  Now, I can’t guarantee some won’t be moth ridden, but my mother believed in double bagging everything and saving it for the grandchildren.  I tried to pass this stuff on to my brother and sister when they started having kids but they didn’t want any of it.”  Cas chuckled as he opened up the first box.  “I don’t know the sizes of any of this though, and I apologize if the colors are weird, my brother was a strange child.”

“How strange?”  Dean asked curiously as he leaned closer, trying to peek into the box.

“This was Gabe’s.” Cas pulled a leather jacket with fringe out and held it up.

“How old is your brother, exactly?”  Dean laughed.

“He’s 35.”

“This stuff looks like it came out of the ’70s.”  Dean arched an eyebrow as he pulled out a short sleeve button down shirt with little cowboy boots all over it.  Ben’s eyes lit up the moment he saw it and he gasped.

“I wanna be a cowboy!”

“All little boys want to be one,”  Cas said and offered the shirt to him.  “I think my brother would be glad to know that someone fancied his taste.  His mate does not and will not let him dress their pups.”

“That’s…”  Dean frowned.  “That’s not fair,” he said softly.

“I agree, but they’re not my kids, so I have no say.  When my brother brings them to visit, though, they’re often dressed in tutus and cowboy boots.  He’ll let them dress however they want.”  Cas smiled as he thought about his niece Shaina at their last visit.  She’d arrived in a pirate costume and worn different costumes for most of their stay.

“I wouldn’t do that.  But it’s just Ben and me.  I would let him dress how he wanted if I could afford to.”  Dean smiled as his son slid the too-big shirt on and tried to button it up.  He looked adorable.

“Well, the clothing in here might be outdated, but you’re welcome to all of it.  Jeans pretty much never go out of style, I don’t think, and there are a ton of those in here.  And most of the tee shirts I suppose would be considered vintage now.  There are things like Smurfs and Care Bears, but there are Transformers, Sesame Street, whatever we liked, or my parents thought was cute.”  Cas was weeding through the larger clothing and what he didn’t think was salvageable, searching for some tee shirts Ben could wear. He let Dean take over that one and got started on another one.  There were sweaters and long sleeve shirts, and several thick winter coats that would be much warmer than what Ben currently had. He began pulling a bunch out, checking the sizes and condition.

“What size does he wear?”

“He’s a little small, so around a five or six mostly,”  Dean replied.

“This should fit.”  Cas held up a thick red coat with matching snow pants.  “It was double bagged and while I’d like to wash it, I think that since there are two sets, he can play for a while in this one while I wash the other one, and then we can switch them out, and I’ll wash this one and he can wear the other one.  He’ll have two then to change between.  The other one is green and blue.”

“I can play in the snow?”  Ben asked excitedly.

“You can.  I have warm mittens downstairs you can use, and a thicker hat,”  Cas replied.

He found his old snow boots, thankful for his hoarding mother, and they made their way back downstairs, arms loaded up with all of the clothing Ben insisted on bringing down with them, and the winter things.  Dean got a load of laundry started with one set of the clothes while Cas got Ben dressed to go play outside.  He was amused at the little boy refusing to take off the shirt, so he just slid a sweater over it and put the coat on.  

In his office were stacks of hats and gloves he usually donated each winter to the local shelters, and they were thicker and warmer than what Ben already had.  He found one of his own scarfs in the closet and after winding that around the pup’s face, he put a pair of his own wool socks on the boy’s feet and stuffed them into the boots.  Once he was certain Ben would be warm enough, he opened up the back door and let him loose.

“You’re sure he’ll be warm enough?”  Dean worried.

“He’ll be fine.  The snowpants kept my brother, sister and me all warm for hours.  I wonder what else my mother stored up there.  Knowing her, she kept tissues from the first time each of us cried after our first break up,”  Cas joked as he headed for the stairs.

“She loved her kids and wanted to save the memories.  I wanted to hang on to more things from Ben, but I couldn’t.  I have a few pictures that my friend took.”  Dean stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.  “Stuff gets stolen in shelters, so I mostly left one bag in the storage unit, but I couldn’t always pay for it.”

“I understand.  Memories are precious to us, and we wish to hang on to them as long as possible.  I’m going to see if there’s anything else she hung onto that might fit Ben.  I’ll be up in the attic if you need me.”  

Cas spent the afternoon sorting through boxes and all the memories that came with the items inside them. There was a cast in one, from when his sister broke her arm when she was 16, and a box of tapes that had belonged to Gabe.  He came across his own box and set those aside for later.  There were dozens of tee shirts from his teens, and he thought perhaps Dean might get some use out of them after they got a good washing.  There were quite a few pairs of jeans as well and while he didn’t know the man’s size, he thought they might fit.

By the time he came downstairs, Ben was back inside, and Dean was sitting on the couch folding laundry while Ben sat on the chair in the corner reading.

“You know, you can turn on the television if you want,”  Cas said as he carried the boxes over and deposited them next to the couch.

“I’ve lived for so long now without one that I forget they even exist.  All they ever play in McDonald’s is CNN, and after a while I just learned to tune that out.”  Dean shrugged and patted a pile of clothes next to him.  “These won’t fit him.  I don’t know what you want to do with them.”

“I think we should pay it forward.  How about we visit the local shelter tomorrow and donate them?  There are little boys somewhere that could benefit from them,” Cas said. One corner of Dean’s mouth quirked upward.

“Yeah, that would be good.  There are a lot of kids that need stuff at the Hamilton church.  That’s where we go.  They always run out of stuff fast.  Whenever Ben outgrows stuff, I take it back there so other kids can get some use out of it.  I have some of his old clothes to take back now.”

“Then we can do that tomorrow.  Do you need to stop by the shop and see if they have hours for you?”  Cas asked.  Dean nodded.

“Yeah, actually, I do.  It’s not so far from here, so Monday I can just walk once I get Ben to school and check.  I don’t know what I’m going to do once he’s on break though.”

“When he’s on break he can stay at the house with me.  He can work on his reading and the papers I will be giving him, and hopefully by then you’ll have more work.  I’m surprised the garage isn’t giving you more hours now with this weather.  I’d think more people would be having car issues now.”

Dean gave another shrug.  “I thought so too, but they have a full staff.  They’re doing me a favor just giving me a few hours here and there, but I’m good, I can fix any car up real good, and they know I can.”

Cas believed him.  He also thought that maybe without the worry of a roof over his head and putting food in his son’s stomach, maybe Dean could find other work, something with more stability.  That was something to bring up later.  For the moment, he wanted to see if the man was interested in the jeans and tee shirts.

“So I found some clothes from when my brother and I were teenagers.  I am fairly positive his old jeans will not fit you.  You’re taller than me and he’s only 5’8” now, but mine should as we’re closer in height.  If they don’t, it’s not that big of a deal, we can get you some later, maybe at the same thrift store I buy mine at.”

“You buy from a thrift store?”  Dean asked.

“I do.  My salary as a teacher is not very big, and I’ve only just finished paying off my student loans.  I have an inheritance, but it’s not huge, and there are more important things I’d like to spend my money on, like food.  Most of my clothing for myself comes from thrift stores.”

Dean smiled as he stood up and came over to see what Cas was pulling out of the boxes he’d brought down.

“I thought you might be interested in some of the tee shirts we used to wear.  Most of them are band tees, and unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that either of us had good taste in music.”

Dean plucked a gray tee shirt out and held it up.  He grinned wide when he saw that it was Metallica.  “Who listened to them?”

“Oh, that would be me.”

“Great taste.”  He checked the tag.  “This should fit me.  You’re sure I can have it?  You don’t want to keep it?”

“I have three Metallica tee shirts.  I forgot I used to even have this one.  You’re more than welcome to it.”  Cas pulled a couple more out, and Dean selected one of them.

“I don’t know who New Kids on the Block are, but they don’t look like people whose music I’d listen to,”  Dean admitted when he skipped over two of those shirts.  “Were those your sister’s?”

“No, actually, those were Gabe’s.”  Cas laughed.  “And I wanted to stab my eardrums when he was going through that phase.  I was not a fan either.  Do you like Led Zeppelin?  Do you know who they are?”

“I love Zep!”  Dean exclaimed.  “I used to listen to them with my dad!”

“Really?”  Cas smiled wide.  “Hang on.”  He dropped the tee shirts in his hand back in the box and walked over to the stereo in the corner where he had a rather large collection of albums and CDs.  He opted to go with a cd and chose a “best of” collection.  When it started to play he turned around to see a bright, happy smile on Dean’s face.  Walking back over, he could smell it in his scent too.  The Omega was truly happy.

“This brings back really good memories for me.  Thanks, man.”  

“You’re quite welcome.  It brings back good memories for me too.  When my brother Mike would come to stay with us, he would always introduce us to new music.  Well, it was new to us.  His mother loved ’60s and ’70s music, and she imparted that love to him.  He shared that with us.  It stuck with me.  I miss him and when I’m thinking about him and the pain becomes too much, I come down here, I find one of the CDs he gave me, or a record I know he loved, and I play it.  Helps me miss him just a little bit less.”  Cas rubbed at his chest, right over his heart.  He’d been close with his eldest brother and not a day went by that he didn’t miss him.

“I get it.  I miss my folks something fierce.  I wish they could see my little boy.  I think they’d be real proud of him.  He looks like my dad, with the dark hair and the brown eyes.  My mom was beautiful.  She had long blonde hair and green eyes.  I got her eyes.”  Dean’s expression became wistful as he thought about his parents.  “I wish I had pictures of them.”

“Do you know anyone that would?”  Cas asked.

“I don’t know.  Maybe?  I think I have a grandfather?  But my dad didn’t like him, and I’m sort of scared to look for him in case he tries to take Ben from me.”

“Well, let’s work on the plan we talked about first.  Getting you your diploma, then getting you started on your degree or licensing, and once you’re on your way to the career of your choice, then you can look up long lost family.  By then you’ll be stable and no one can do or say anything about how you raise Ben, and no one has to know you were ever homeless, unless you want to share that part of your life with them.  It’s your life.  You only have to share the parts you want.”  Cas went back to pulling clothes out of the box and picked up a pair of jeans.  “Do you think these will fit you?”

By the end of their sorting, Dean had three new pairs of jeans and a dozen new shirts.  All of the New Kids shirts ended up in the donate pile after they got washed.  Cas had also located two pairs of flannel pajamas with cowboy themes and after washing and drying them, Ben was dressed and tucked into one pair that night.  Dean still couldn’t believe his luck in finding a genuinely kind and thoughtful Alpha.  He no longer expected Cas to demand sexual favors, but he still insisted on helping out around the house as much as possible.

The next day they dropped a bunch of the clothes off at the shelter and swung by the garage.  They actually wanted to let Dean work for a few hours so Cas told Dean he’d bring Ben back to the house and they’d have lunch and come back to get him when his shift was over.  Dean agreed, but mostly because it was 12 degrees out and he only had the canvas jacket and fleece to keep him warm.

That night, Dean pitched in to help make dinner.  They made tacos, another food Ben had never gotten to try, but the boy loved them and scarfed down two huge ones and a plate of nachos.  He was in awe when he was allowed a half hour of television after dinner while the adults cleaned up.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next week leading up to winter break went smoother than Cas had expected.  They were all adapting to living together and Dean was actually getting more hours at the garage, which he was very grateful for.  The owner told him that if he got his GED and got licensed, they’d hire him on full time, and he was desperate for that.  Cas was still looking into the classes for him, but hadn’t heard back yet.

The first Tuesday into winter break, Cas heard back about the rapid diploma courses.  It turned out Dean did qualify, up until age 22, and he was cutting it close since he was just under the deadline.  Not wanting to miss that cutoff, he went ahead and got Dean enrolled, with the first classes starting in January.

“I don’t understand, though; what am I going to be doing?”  Dean asked worriedly.  “How does this work?”

“You’re going to school, just like you would if you were back in high school, except the class is smaller, and the material is sort of fast forwarded.  You’ll get a lot of material packed into a short time frame, but they’ll cut out all of the unnecessary stuff that a four year diploma would have you suffering through.  You’ll focus on the core classes and walk away with your diploma in about a year.”

“Yeah?”  Dean still seemed skeptical, but Cas could hear the hope leaking into his voice now.

“Yes.  We’ll get you some notebooks and a backpack, and I don’t think there’s a whole lot more you’ll need.”  

“I can tell Rob then that I’m getting my diploma.”  Dean turned his gaze out towards the falling snow outside.  “I need money.”

“If he’s willing to work with you, that’s fantastic.  How much will he pay you if you get licensed?”  Cas asked.  It was dinner time and he had Ben learning to set the table.  The boy was humming a Pink Floyd song as he put forks next to each of the plates.

“He says $10.50 to start, $11.00 after I’m there a month.”

Cas frowned.  That was it?  With a license?

“Check around with other places too.  Don’t promise yourself to just that one place.  Once you have your diploma, lots of places will offer you work and once you have your degree, a lot of places will offer much better pay than that.”

“Yeah? Cause he’s only giving me minimum wage right now, under the table.  I take what I can get.  $10.50, it feels like a lot of money to me,”  Dean admitted.

“I’m sure it does, but it’s not enough to support two people on.  It’s honestly not enough to support even a single person on in this economy, unfortunately.  I know, I tried.”  Cas handed the container of napkins to Ben when he came back for them.

“What job did you do?”  Dean asked.

“I have had many.  In college, I held down two jobs.  One paid $9.50 an hour, and that was washing dishes, and the other paid $12, and that was as a bouncer at a bar on campus.”  Cas lifted the edge of his shirt so Dean could see the scar on his side.  “The pay wasn’t worth it.”

“Dude, what happened?”  Dean gasped, reaching out on instinct to touch the puckered skin but pulling back at the last second.  Cas dropped his shirt and sighed.

“Drunk frat boys got rowdy, picked a fight and I tried to break it up.  I got slashed with a beer bottle.  I worked that job my last year of college, but I couldn’t wait to get out of there.  I paid off as much of my student debt as possible as I went along, but still had a hefty chunk to pay when I was finished.  I used part of my inheritance to pay off the rest, otherwise I’d still be in debt.”  

“How old are you?  You don’t look very old,”  Dean asked.  “If I’m being rude, I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.  I’m 3o.  It was my birthday the week before school began.”

“Mine’s the end of January, not that it matters.  I haven’t celebrated it since my folks both died.  I celebrate Ben’s, get him an ice cream or a cupcake or something every year.”  Dean looked over at his son, who was now placing plastic cups on the table.

“Paperwork says his birthday is right before mine, so he just turned six?”

“Right. I want to get him a real cake for his next birthday.  He’s never had one,”  Dean said.

“What do you think he’d like on it?”  Cas asked.  Dean eyed the cowboy shirt his son was wearing again paired with the cowboy pajama pants he couldn’t get the boy to take off.

“My guess is cowboys.”

“He’d love my brother Gabe,”  Cas said dryly.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“What do you mean you have a homeless man living with you?  Are you  _ nuts _ ?!”  Gabe shrieked so loud Cas had to pull the phone away from his ear for a moment.  He rolled his eyes and waited for his brother’s outburst to finish before placing the phone back against his ear.  This specific call he had waited until Dean was working at the garage to actually place.  It was two days until Christmas, and Gabe was due to come over with his family.  Explaining Dean and Ben on the spot would be rather awkward and uncomfortable for poor Dean, so he’d decided to call ahead.

“It’s not like that, you idiot.  Dean has been through a lot, and you do not need to be privy to his backstory.  Hell, even I do not need to be privy to it.  All I know is that he lost both of his parents at a young age, and he got pregnant at 15.  When they tried to throw him in the system so they could take his pup away and place his pup, he freaked and ran.  It’s been him and his son ever since.  He is  _ not _ a bad father.  On the contrary, Ben is an exceptionally bright little boy, deeply loved, well taught, and very well mannered.  The child impresses me constantly, both in school and at home.  He’d rather read a book than watch television, and he’s reading at a fifth-grade level, and that was  _ before _ he started school.  I am simply giving Dean a helping hand.  Shelters are rough, and not always a place you can count on to rest your head.  His son never went hungry though.  Dean has always worked, always provided for his child, and he still does.  He won’t let me pay for anything for Ben.  All I’ve been able to do is offer up some of the old clothes Mom packed away in the attic, and some meals.  Dean went down to public aid and got on food stamps, so now he’s buying his own groceries, and he insists on doing all the laundry and housework around here as payback.  He’s a good man, and I think you’ll like him.  In a way, he reminds me a bit of you.  And good lord, Ben is obsessed with cowboys!”

Gabe chuckled softly on the other end of the line.  “You’ve always had a big heart.  You’re doing a good thing.  I have a few cowboy themed things Kali wants me to get rid of.  If Ben could use them, he’s welcome to have them.  I’ll bring them with when we come.”

Cas smiled.  He knew his brother would come around.

“Don’t tell Kali that Dean and Ben were homeless though.  I know how judgmental she can be.  Tell her something else.  That we’re roommates or something.”

“Well, technically you are.  You needed one though; you’re lonely there all by yourself.”  

“You’re right.” Cas cocked his head as the sound of laughter reached his ears.  He stood up and went to the doorway of his office and peered down the hall.  Ben was standing in the hall with a fluffy gray cat circling his legs.

“Miss Kitty really likes Ben.  She’s rubbing against him right now.”

“That’s good.  She’s choosy about who she likes,”  Gabe said.

“She loves Dean.  He closes his bedroom door every night but wakes up with her sleeping on his chest every morning, and he has no idea how she gets in there.  I’m still trying to figure that out too.”  Cas chuckled.

“Mr. Novak!  Can I have a snack?  I’m hungry.”  Ben came running over and the cat came with.  Cas smiled and nodded.

“How does carrot sticks and ranch dressing to dip them in sound?”

“Yum!”  Ben exclaimed.

Cas led the boy to the kitchen and got a pre-packed container of the carrots and ranch out for him.  Dean was carefully measuring out every single bit of food he bought.

“He sounds adorable.  He’s what, five?  Six?”  Gabe asked.

“Six, and so cute.  You’ll see,”  Cas replied.

“We’ll be there by noon on Christmas day,”  Gabe told him.  “Do you think Dean would like a Christmas gift?”

“I think he’d bristle at the thought, but later he’d appreciate it.  There are so many things he could use, especially for school.  He’s going back next month for the rapid diploma program.”

“Say no more.  Everyone could use school supplies.  What he doesn’t use, he can save and use later for Ben.”

“That’s true.  We’ll see you Christmas day,”  Cas said.

“See you then.”  

Cas hung up and tucked his phone into his pocket. He smiled as he watched Ben dipping one of his carrots into the dressing.  The little boy didn’t bite into it though.  Instead, he looked up at the Alpha, his expression serious.

“Can I tell you something, Mr. Novak?”

“Of course.”

“My tooth feels weird.”

Cas came to sit down in the seat next to him and leaned forward a bit.  “Which tooth?”

“This one.”  Ben pointed at one of his front teeth.

“Can I take a look?” 

Ben nodded and opened his mouth.  Cas checked the tooth and sure enough, it wiggled slightly.  He sat back as Ben closed his mouth again and looked up at him.

“Crunch the carrots with your back teeth for right now.  That tooth is loose, and it’s getting ready to fall out and make room for your big boy tooth.  Have you ever been to see a dentist?”

Ben shook his head.  “What’s a dentist?”

“Right.  Have you ever seen a doctor?”

“They give me shots at the clinic.  I don’t like doctors.”  Ben wrinkled his nose and the sour smell of upset pup poured off him.  Cas chuckled.

“Don’t worry, the dentist isn’t so bad, and they usually have stickers after they’re done looking at your teeth.  I’ll have to talk to daddy now that he is working on getting your insurance figured out, and see if he can get you in to see a dentist.  We need to make sure all of your teeth are healthy.”

“What about Daddy’s teeth?  Are his teeth healthy?”  Ben picked up his carrot and shoved it towards the back of his mouth before biting down.

“Well, daddy will have insurance now too, so he can get his teeth checked too.”

“Ok.  Is my tooth gonna fall out like Victor Montoya’s?”

“Yes it will.  But a new, better one will grow in.  You have to take really good care of the new one though, because you only get one new one for each tooth you lose.  If you don’t take care of the new ones they’ll get cavities, and those hurt,”  Cas explained.

“Like the people at the shelter with the icky, black teeth?  Daddy says they don’t take care of their teeth and they got bad cavities.  That’s what could happen to my teeth too?”  

“Yes.  So you need to brush every morning and every night, and you need to floss.”  

“I will!  I don’t want icky, black teeth!”  Ben exclaimed.  Cas chuckled and ruffled the pup’s hair.  

“Eat your snack and wash your hands.  Daddy should be home soon.”

Ben smiled around a mouthful of carrot.  “Ok!”

Cas returned to his office to finish working on the worksheets he wanted to hand out after break was over.  Less than an hour later he heard the front door open as Dean came in.

“Daddy!”

It brought a smile to Cas’ face hearing Ben’s joy and excitement at having his father home with him again.

“Hey, buddy, what are you doing?”

“I just finished this book.  It was really good.  It’s about an Indian that lives in a cupboard!”  Ben began eagerly explaining the plot of the book to his father as Dean tried to take off his coat and shoes.

“You know, I think maybe I read that when I was a kid.  But I didn’t read it in kindergarten.  You sure you understand it?”

“Yes, Daddy!”

There were footsteps as they came down the hall and then a knock on the partially open door frame.  Cas looked up to see Dean poking his head in the room.

“Am I interrupting?”

“Of course not, come in.”

“What are you doing?”

“Just getting the worksheets situated for the next few weeks.  I have some different ones for Ben and for a few other kids that are learning ahead of the curve, though,”  Cas replied.  Dean came into the room and sat down in one of the chairs across from him.  The Alpha was pleased to see that he was wearing his old Led Zeppelin shirt.  It looked good on him.

“I was wondering, um, like, Christmas is in two days.  Do you want me and Ben to stay upstairs?  You didn’t say.  We can take some food and stay in my room if you have company coming over.  We’ll stay real quiet.”

“Oh, no, I want you down here, celebrating with us.”  Cas didn’t want Dean hiding away, not at all!  Dean looked skeptical.

“You’re sure?  We’re not going to like, embarrass you?”

“Why would you embarrass me?  Do you plan to use your armpit to play Jingle Bells?”  Cas asked.  Dean snorted and smiled.

“Well, no, that’s gross…”

“I told my brother a little bit.  Enough that he should not ask questions.  His mate is the judgmental one and as far as she knows, we’re roommates.  That’s all she needs to know.  I don’t much care for her, as you’ll see at Christmas.  But I love my niece and nephew, they’re wonderful, and they’re right around Ben’s age, so he’ll have kids to play with.  Apparently Kali, that’s his mate, she has more cowboy stuff she wants my brother to get rid of, so he’s going to bring it for Ben since his own pups don’t like that sort of stuff.  His wife is from India, and everything in their home is done in a style reflective of her heritage.  The Old West does not fit in with that theme.”  

“That sucks.  Mating is supposed to be equal.  My parents were equal in everything.  I couldn’t be with someone that told me I couldn’t have my classic rock, or pie.”  Dean pursed his lips in distaste.  Cas nodded in agreement.

“Anyone that told me I couldn’t have my books or couldn’t cook would not be someone I wanted as a mate.”

“How come you’re not mated?  Even most of my friends are by now,”  Dean asked.

“How come you’re not?”  Cas countered.

“I have a kid,”  Dean said, pointing out the obvious.

“That’s no excuse.  Even you said you have an Alpha that’s interested.  Ben aside, why aren’t you mated?”

Dean looked down at his hands for a moment.  There was grease under his nails, but he’d made $45 today and it was worth it.

“I dunno.  I’m not that smart.  People want a smart mate.  I want to work.  I  _ like _ working.  I don’t want to be one of those Omegas that stays at home.  I’d go nuts.  I’ve always worked.  The Alpha that wants to mate me, he wants me to stay at home, have more pups and just raise them.  I maybe like the idea of another pup or two, but I don’t want that to be my life.  I want to be somebody my son looks up to, someone he can be proud of.  I figure going back to school, that’s going to help me get smarter.  I missed out on a lot by dropping out of school, but I’m not dumb.  I know the important stuff.  I maybe can’t balance a checkbook, but I can take an engine apart and put it back together.  So what if I can’t match the perfect wine with a meal?  I can make $10 stretch for a month to feed my kid so he never goes hungry.  

“Mostly, I can’t trust a lot of Alphas.  They always want something from me.  They’ll offer a couch to crash on, and then I’ll wake up in the middle of the night to them trying to unzip my pants because they want sex.  When I say no, they tell me to get out.  One time, I woke up to one trying to touch my  _ son _ .  I broke the bastard’s hand before I took my son and left.  After that, we did shelters and once in awhile the storage shed.  Ben has to always come first.  I can’t risk his safety.  I can’t just agree to mate with the first Alpha that comes along because maybe he can offer me security.  I want more than that.  I want love too, like my folks had, and to be treated as their equal, and they gotta love Ben as much as they love me.  If they don’t, it’s never, ever going to happen.”

Cas bristled at the thought of someone touching sweet little Ben.  Had he been there, he’d have done a hell of a lot worse than just broken the man’s hand.  

“Someone really did that?  To Ben?”

“No, because I didn’t let him.  My son was a year old, and I had started sleeping light whenever I stayed at people's’ houses, and I smelled Alpha arousal.  Snapped awake and saw him…touching himself as he reached for my son.  I damn near ripped his knot off too.”

“I would have.  Had I been there, I’d have probably gone into a rage and killed him.  That’s disgusting.”  Cas growled.  Dean smiled softly.

“You’re a good man, Cas.  So tell me, why is it  _ you’re  _ not mated?”

“Oh, no one wants an Alpha kindergarten teacher.  They think they do, they think they want a teacher, then they find out  _ what _ I teach, and for some reason they immediately think I’m some pervert because I teach such little pups, but I would never hurt or touch a child.  Society is twisted in ever even coming to that mindset.  I teach because it is the greatest satisfaction to shape such young minds, and for Christ's sake, there are cameras with audio in every damn classroom.  Only an absolute moron would dare touch a student.  I enjoy teaching, and my favorite thing of all is seeing the very brightest ones of all flourish and advance, like Ben is doing.  Alphas unfortunately get a bad rap because there are a few bad seeds.  I’m sorry you experienced a few of those.  I have been on the opposite end of that.  

“I have dated a bit, but nothing has panned out past a month or so.  I don’t make enough money to make most Omegas or Betas happy, so they lose interest fairly quickly.”

“Money isn’t everything.  Doesn’t anyone mate for love anymore?”  Dean wondered aloud.

“I find myself asking that same question quite often,”  Cas said.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Christmas Eve was spent putting up the tree, and Cas found it much more enjoyable with Dean and Ben there to help.  They strung popcorn, which was slow going with the pup eating just as much as he was stringing, and hung lights, then it was time for the ornaments.  Cas had purchased an ornament special for Ben, a little cowboy boot that had the pup squealing as he hung it on the tree.  The Alpha scooped the boy up and handed him the angel topper to place on the top of the tree when they were finished.  When they were done, Dean flipped the switch and the tree lit up.  Ben’s eyes went wide with awe, and Dean fought to blink back his tears.  This was his first Christmas in a house since his father had died, but the first one actually celebrated since his mother had died.  Suddenly he found himself missing his parents and his little brother so much that his heart felt as if it had been torn in two.  The tears began to flow and then he was being wrapped up in two sets of arms.  One strong pair and one tiny pair.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”  Ben asked as he hugged his father tight.

“I miss Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Sam very, very much right now.”  Dean’s voice was thick, and Cas hugged him tighter. He leaned into the Alpha more, thankful for the man’s friendship more than ever in that moment.

“The holidays are hard when we miss our loved ones.  Would you like to light a candle in their honor?”  Cas asked.

Dean thought about that for a moment.  “Yeah, I think I would actually.”

Cas let Dean take Ben and he went over to one of the built in cabinets to the left of the fireplace where there were some pillar candles sitting.  He took three out and set them on the fireplace mantle.

“Here, you light them.”

Dean took the lighter he was offered and one by one, he lit a candle.  On the last one, he thought of his little brother.  Sam had to be 18, maybe 19 by now.  He wondered where his little brother was, and how he had presented.  He hoped that wherever Sam was, he was happy.

As he stepped back to watch the flames flickering, he felt a hand come to rest on his back, between his shoulder blades.  He looked over to see Cas watching the candles too.

“Feel better?”

“A little.  I’m wondering what happened to my brother.  He’s legal age now.  Did the system just spit him out or did he get adopted?  I have no idea.  Wherever he is, I hope he’s happy.”

“What state were you in when your father died?”  Cas asked.

“We were staying in my dad’s friend’s cabin.  I called my dad’s friend when my dad didn’t wake up, and he came to get us. By law he had to call the state.  They came and took us, and when they found out I was pregnant…”  Dean shook his head and hugged his pup closer. “I wasn’t giving up my son.”

“I don’t blame you.  No one should have tried to force you to.  That was wrong of them.  What state was that?”

“South Dakota.”

“Mmm.  I bet they have laws there about pups under the age of 17 not being legally old enough to make their own decisions, which is why the state was going to decide for you.  If there had been family to take you in, though, you could have kept your pup and still had a roof over your head, not struggled like you did.  That’s over now though, and you’ll find Sam again, I’m sure of it.”

“I left South Dakota, came back here where Sam and I were born.  My friends and stuff were here anyway, and I got a job for a while.  Stayed in an Omega shelter for teenage mothers and saved every penny I made.  Someone tried to steal my money too.  I almost clawed her eyes out.  I needed that money for my pup, and she tried to take it from me.”  Dean set Ben down when he started to wiggle and let him go back to hanging ornaments.  “There were times when I didn’t have anything to eat.  I fished in dumpsters a few times.  Mostly I knew every single food pantry give away day and the soup kitchens, and I sweet talked a few restaurants and stuff too, so they’d give me the breads and stuff they were just going to throw out.  I knew how to get food for free.  I nursed him till he was almost three, so I wouldn’t have to feed him as much, just me, and the food went longer.  Diapers and clothes were the expensive part.  I got Rob to start giving me a chance to prove myself at the garage last year, and he likes the way I work.  He’d let Ben sit in the breakroom cause he’s a good boy, and he’d read or play real quiet, not touching anything he’s not supposed to, and I could strip an engine down faster than anyone else he’s got working there.  I work fast, but my work is good.  He’s willing to give me more hours now that I don’t have to bring Ben with.”

Dean looked over at him, a soft, shy smile on his face.  “I wanted to say thank you for letting us stay here, so I  got you something for Christmas.  It’s not much, but it’s our first real holiday together, and you’re our friend.”

Cas smiled, his heart warmed by the gesture.  “Well, thank you.  I appreciate that very much, and it’s not the size or price of the gift that counts, it’s the thought that goes into it.  I will value it very much.”

“I got Ben something too.  I’ll be right back, I want to put them under the tree.”

Dean hurried up the stairs.  Ben turned to watch his father go.

“Is Daddy still crying?”

“No, honey, he’s not, he went to get presents so he can put them under the tree.”

“I read that in a book.  People put them under the tree and on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus comes and puts special ones under the tree for good boys and girls.  This is my first Christmas tree.  Do you think Santa can find me this year?”  Ben asked as he gazed up at the tree.  Cas walked over and crouched down beside the boy.  Dean might be upset, but he’d gone ahead and bought the pup two gifts, marking them from Santa to place under the tree once he was asleep.

“I bet he can, but you have to get to bed like a good boy and be fast asleep before he’ll come.”  

Ben giggled as he placed another ball ornament on the tree.  There was no rhyme or reason to his placement of them, but Cas didn’t mind.  

“I’m so excited!”

Cas ruffled the pup’s hair, even though what he wanted to do was lean over and kiss the top of his head.  Ben was adorable, so full of youthful energy and innocence.  He loved that about him.

Dean came back downstairs a few minutes later with two packages, both neatly wrapped.  One, Cas suspected, was a stuffed animal based on the awkward wrapping, the other he thought might be a book. Dean smiled shyly at him as he tucked them under the tree.

“Are those for me, Daddy?  Are they for me?” Ben was jumping around him, trying to get a look, but his father kept laughing and pushing him back.

“Booger, knock it off.  One is for you, one is for Mr. Novak.  Remember you have your own gift for him too?”

“Oh!  Right!”  Ben turned and ran for the stairs.

“Walk, monkey!  Don’t run inside!”  Dean called after him.  Ben slowed down but still moved quickly up the stairs.  “He made your gift himself.”

“He should have something for you then as well.  I had the children make presents for their parents for the holidays.”  Cas went to the closet in his office and pulled out the gifts he’d been storing in there.  When Dean saw him coming out with his hands full, he hurried over to help him.

“What’s all this?”

“I have something for each of my brother’s pups, as well as my brother and his mate.  There is something in here for you and Ben as well,”  Cas replied as they began placing the boxes under the tree.

“You better not have gotten me anything too expensive,”  Dean warned.

“No, because I knew that would upset you.  But I did get you something you could use.” Cas placed a larger box towards the back, and Dean couldn’t read the label from where he sat.  He suspected it was for either him or Ben though.

“I want to make dinner tonight.  I haven’t cooked in a really long time though.  Do you think you could help me?”  

“Of course, what did you want to make?”  Cas asked.

“Homemade burgers and fries.  I bought a bag of real potatoes.  Those go further, I think, than a bag of the precut ones, and a couple pounds of some discounted ground beef.  It’s still good.  I put it in the freezer a few days ago and moved it to the fridge last night.”

“Burgers sound fantastic; I haven’t had homemade ones in a long time.”

Ben came back down waving two gifts in the air.

“I got one for you too, Daddy!”

“Good, put them under the tree,”  Dean instructed.  Ben placed both of his under the tree with extreme care before popping up again.

“I have a loose tooth, Daddy.  Mr. Novak says it’s gonna fall out and a new one’s gonna come in.  When that happens I gotta be real good and take care of it so I don’t get icky, black teeth like those people at the shelter.  He says I should see a dentist and get a sticker!”

Dean laughed as he tried to keep up with his son.  “Oh, a sticker?  That’s why you want to see the dentist?” 

“Uh huh.  I want a puppy sticker.”

“I will see what I can do about setting up a dentist appointment for you, kiddo.  Go read a book. I’m going to go start dinner.”  Dean watched his son run off to find a new book to read while he and Cas went to the kitchen to get started on cooking.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The burgers weren’t half bad, and even Ben liked them.  Cas had seasoned the fries and Dean wrote down the recipe he’d used.  He’d begun doing that lately.  If he particularly liked something the Alpha made, he wanted to be able to recreate the dish again later on his own. His cooking wasn’t horrible, and he watched Cas closely so when he actually cooked, it wasn’t half bad.  

After eating, Dean got Ben into the tub, then Cas brought out the book “T’was the Night Before Christmas”.  They sat down all together on the couch, Ben stretched out between them with his head on his father’s lap while Cas read the story aloud and Dean ran his fingers absently through his pup’s hair.  Ben listened with rapt attention to every word and when the story was over, sat up to take the book and read it himself as he looked at the pictures.

“I remember my mother reading that to me and Sam when we were little,”  Dean murmured as he watched his son tracing each of the words with his finger as he followed the story.

“Daddy, what’s a sugar plum?”

“It’s an old fashioned kind of candy, I think.  I’m not really sure.”  Dean looked over at Cas, who gave a little shrug.

“I’m not sure either.  Why don’t we google it and find out?”

He took out his phone, and even Dean scooted closer to learn the answer to that one.

“Ah, it looks like a hundred or so years ago they would take a seed, or maybe a bit of fruit or scrap of spice and coat it in sugar, thus turning it into a piece of candy.  It wasn’t like the candy that we eat today, but children loved it back then, and they were called sugar plums, and they would go to sleep on Christmas Eve dreaming of having pieces of candy placed in their stockings.”

“Why?  Didn’t they get candy?”  Ben asked.

“No, candy was often hard to come by back then.  Sugar was rare and expensive.  Usually only the wealthy had it, so if pups got sugar plums, it was usually only at Christmas, and it was a very special treat,”  Cas replied.

“Like when sometimes Daddy gets me a peanut butter cup?  I love those, but he can’t always give them to me cause he doesn’t have enough money.  Like that?”

“Right, like that.”  Cas smiled as the little boy turned his attention back to the book and looked across at Dean.

“Thank you for explaining that to him the way you did.  I don’t think I could have done that as well.”

“I’m sure you would have done just fine.  He’s highly inquisitive, and I love answering whatever questions he might have.  That was a new one on me though.  I never thought to ask what a sugar plum was when I was a pup.”  Cas chuckled.  Dean grinned.

“Me either.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Getting an excited pup into bed proved to be hard work that night, but eventually exhaustion won and Ben fell asleep.  Cas caught Dean coming out of the boy’s room and motioned for him to follow him back downstairs.

“Everything ok?”  Dean asked when they reached the living room.

“Everything is fine.  I just thought that tonight, I would like to give you my present.  That way tomorrow the focus can be on the pups.”

“You’re sure?”  Dean’s eyes drifted over to the tree, landing on that box he’d seen Cas place underneath it earlier.

“Yes.”  Cas headed for the tree and Dean followed quietly behind.  When they reached it, he pulled out the big box.

“Cas, what did you do.”  Dean sighed.  The Alpha smiled as he held it out.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t expensive.  I know you’d be upset with me if I spent  a lot, so…I went to Goodwill.  But you really needed this.”

Dean was searching his eyes, though for what, Cas wasn’t sure.  Finally there was a spark of excitement in his eyes as he began tearing into the paper.  He lifted the lid off the box, and his green eyes opened wide.

“Oh, dude!  This is awesome!”

“You needed a warm coat.  I worry about you walking back and forth in your canvas jacket with the weather being as cold as it is, but this should keep you toasty warm.  It even has a hood.”  Cas was pointing out the features as Dean lifted the thick Carhart jacket out of the box.  It was a little big, and definitely not new, so Dean believed him when he said he’d gone to Goodwill.  He knew how warm a Carhart jacket was, too, and with a flannel and one of his Henley shirts on underneath it, he’d stay perfectly warm.

“Thank you.  I…had to sell mine, to buy food a couple winters back.  I’ve gotten by, but this winter is the coldest it’s been in a while and my canvas jacket isn’t cutting it this year.  I’m going to put this to good use.  I’ll wear it every day, I promise.”  Dean pulled the Alpha into a hug and Cas happily hugged him back.

“I’m so glad you liked it.  There is a new hat and scarf set tucked into one of the sleeves, and some fleece lined gloves, but I picked those up at Goodwill too, which is why they don’t match.  I’m more about staying warm than I am about making sure I match.”

“Yeah, whether or not I match doesn’t matter.  I just want to stay warm. Thank you.”  Dean found the hat and scarf, smiling as he ran his fingers over the soft yarn.  They reminded him of the set his mother had made him when he was just a boy.  “Can I give you mine too?”

“Sure, if you want to.”

“It’s not much, but…”  Dean laid the coat on the couch and went to grab his present to the Alpha out from under the tree.  “I hope you like it.  It’s something that means a lot to me, and you didn’t have it in your book collection, I checked, so I went to the second hand book store on Main, and they had a couple of copies.  I thought maybe you might like to read it?”

Cas had unwrapped the book, because he’d known even as Dean had placed it under the tree earlier what it was, and ran his fingers over the cover.  He’d heard of Vonnegut, he’d just never read any of the man’s work.

“Is this horror?”

“No, it’s about this guy, Billy Pilgrim, who sort of gets unstuck from time, right?  And he becomes able to move back and forth through it, so that’s what he does.  If I tell you the whole plot, there’ll be no point in reading it.”  Dean said, smiling.  Cas smiled back.

“Well, that alone sounds interesting.  I’ll read a few chapters before bed.”

“It, uh, was my dad’s favorite book.  I read his copy when I was a kid.  He said I was too young, that it wasn’t the kind of stuff a kid should be reading, but I liked those kinds of books, and it became my favorite too.  I wanted something more than just cars that I could bond with my dad over.  He wasn’t happy that I was an Omega.  Then when I got pregnant…”  Dean’s smile faltered.  “I think that’s what killed him.  I broke his heart.”

“Don’t say that.  You’re a wonderful man and an amazing father.”

Dean stooped down to scoop up the wrapping paper on the floor.

“Doesn’t matter, I was still a disappointment to him.”

Cas didn’t know what to say to that.  He watched as Dean tossed the paper out and hung up his new coat before excusing himself and going up to his room.  He’d hoped Dean would want to watch a movie with him, maybe relax and talk about his expectations for his classes that were soon to start, but instead it was nine and he was staring at a beautifully lit Christmas tree, suddenly feeling more alone than ever.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean didn’t come down the following morning until Cas called him down for breakfast.  Ben, however, had come down bright and early, exclaiming excitedly over the new presents from “Santa” that were under the tree.  Green eyes narrowed at the Alpha as Dean stepped into the kitchen, but Cas pointedly ignored the look as he served piles of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and fresh fruit.  Ben was squealing with delight as he pulled blueberries out of his pancakes and popped them in his mouth.

“No, Ben, you eat them  _ in _ the pancakes.  Here, add some syrup, they’re delicious,”  Cas explained as he cut them for the boy.  

“I never had fruit  _ in _ my pancakes.  It’s good like that?”

“They’re great, kiddo.  Really yummy,”  Dean said as he slid into his seat.  Cas placed a plate of food in front of him too.

“Oh!”  The boy exclaimed at his first bite.  “I like these better than the McDonald’s pancakes, Daddy!”

“Anything is better than McDonald’s pancakes,”  Dean muttered.  Cas laughed softly as he joined them at the table.

“Daddy,  _ Santa _ came!”  Ben exclaimed.  Dean side eyed the Alpha who shoved a mouthful of pancake in his mouth and stared with wide, innocent, blue eyes at him.

“Uh huh, I heard you saying that.”

“He arrived last night, after Ben went to sleep.  I was going to ask if you wanted to watch a movie with me, Dean, and wait up for Santa to arrive, but you went to bed.”  Cas said as casually as he could muster under the heated glared he was now receiving.

“He  _ found _ me, Daddy!  He couldn’t before, cause I didn’t have a real home, but now I do, so he knew where to look!  Mr. Novak says after I eat all of my food I can open my presents!”

Dean’s gaze softened as he looked at his son and for a moment Cas thought he might even cry.  The Omega nodded and smiled softly.

“Sure, sweetheart, you can open them when you’re all done eating.”

They all ate and after finishing clearing the table, everyone headed into the living room.  Ben looked eagerly up at his father, who gave a quick nod, and then raced over to the tree.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to check with you first.  I meant to last night, but you left upset, and I felt it would be rude of me to intrude after you’re retired to your room.  Ben asked yesterday anyway about Santa, and whether he’d be able to find him here.  It’s not much, just a little extra.”

“I’m paying you back,”  Dean said in a firm whisper as they watched Ben tear into the first of the presents.

“That is acceptable,”  Cas conceded.  He simply wanted to keep the peace in the house, and if that’s what it took, he would let Dean pay him back.

“Daddy,  _ look _ !”  Ben exclaimed as he held up a plastic Captain America shield.  “I can be Captain America!  I can be like Steve Rogers, Daddy!”

“You sure can, buddy, just like him.”  Dean smiled at his son.  The moment Ben turned away, Dean rounded on Cas.  “How much?”

“Two dollars.”

Dean blinked.  “What?”

“I picked the items up at Goodwill when I bought your coat.  He has no toys, Dean.  I thought he might like a couple, to encourage his imagination.”

Dean turned back as Ben ripped the paper off the second gift.  He flinched at the ear piercing shriek his son let out.

“Did you…”  He shot the Alpha a withering look.  “ _ Did you buy my son Legos? _ ”

“Technically, no.  They’re building blocks.  Much bigger and easier to see.  And he’s keeping them up in his room, not down here,”  Cas replied.  “Plus they were four dollars.”

Dean sucked on his upper lip for a moment before shaking his head.  “I guess he could use some toys.  A kid at the shelter stole the action figures I’d picked up for him at one of the second hand stores.  Went into my bag and stole all of them while I had Ben in the bathroom.  He cried for a week over his toys.  I was afraid to get him anything since.  Now he just plays with the stuff at the library.”

“The greed of some people is astounding.  I’m sorry he had to experience that at such a young age.  That’s awful.”  Cas bumped his arm and they moved over to the couch to sit.  Ben was opening the gift from Dean, smiling when he saw it was a board game.

“Can we play later?  All of us?”

“Sure, what game is it?”  Cas asked.

“Hi Ho Cherry-O,”  Ben replied.  “I always wanted this game.”

“I picked it up brand new at a thrift store I frequent.  A lady had bought it for her daughter, but like, two other people had bought her daughter the same game that year, so she decided to donate.  It was three.  He’s wanted this game for a long time now.  As long as he doesn’t lose any pieces, later we’ll be able to donate it back,”  Dean explained.

“I like your pay it forward mentality.  Not everyone thinks as positively as you do, Dean.  I really like that about you,”  Cas said.  Dean smiled shyly.

“Struggling is hard. If I can make it easier for even one other person, then I will.”

“Open mine now, Ben.”  Cas pointed to his gift, which was still waiting.  Ben grabbed it and tore the paper off.

“Daddy!  Look!  It’s  _ paint _ !”

“You really don’t want to see your house remaining nice and beautiful, do you?”  Dean asked.

Cas laughed.  “I think the back porch is a good spot for him to paint.  We’ll just tell him to leave the cats alone since that’s their room.”

“Good luck with that,”  Dean huffed.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gabe’s car pulled into the driveway at 10 after 12, and then he was trekking into the house with his family in tow.  Dean was immediately surprised to learn that Gabe was an Omega like him, and not an Alpha.  His mate, Kali, was a Beta, and pretty much right away she rubbed him the wrong way.  The kids were precious though.  

“So, you’re the new roommate, eh?”  Gabe marched right up to Dean and offered his hand.  “You look like a pup yourself.”

Dean pursed his lips in annoyance as he shook the man’s hand, possibly harder than was necessary.

“I’m not.  I can’t help genetics.  Cas looks young too.”

“It’s true, I look 20,”  Cas agreed as he scooped his niece up and kissed her cheek.

“I’m Ben.”  Ben popped up next to his dad, and Dean draped an arm protectively around his shoulders.

“Nice to meet you, Ben, I’m Gabe.  I’m your teacher, Mr. Novak’s, big brother.  This is my mate, Kali.  She’s a teacher too, but she teaches yoga.”

“What’s yoga?”  Ben asked.

“Oh boy.”  Cas mumbled, chuckling under his breath.

“Come here, Ben, and I will show you.” Kali smiled sweetly at the pup and he went to her, along with her own pups.  While she taught them some yoga moves, Gabe got his brother and Dean to help him bring gifts in from the car.

“So, you said you were making a turkey for dinner this year.  I brought three kinds of pie, cupcakes, sweet potatoes, and a green bean casserole.”  

“Gabe owns a bakery; I should probably tell you that.  He supplies dessert each year while I make the main dish and whatever potatoes or noodles we decide to have,” Cas explained as they hauled in two garbage bags full of presents.

“Except this year I’m helping cook,”  Dean said.  “I’m making homemade mashed potatoes.  At least I know how to make those.  And biscuits.”

“The bird is in the oven; the potatoes are boiling, and I made the cranberries yesterday.  Oh, there’s stuffing too,”  Cas added as he passed the bags off to Kali so she could put the gifts under the tree.

“What time do you usually eat?”  Dean asked.

“Around three.  There’s no rush.”  Cas replied.

“Could I try that lasagna I wanted to make?  In case there’s not enough food?”  Dean worried the turkey wasn’t big enough, or that there wouldn’t be enough potatoes.

“I can show you how to make one, if you like.”  Cas assured him.  He knew that if Dean was worried there wasn’t enough food, he wouldn’t eat.

“Ok, thanks.”

“Why don’t we go get started on that stuff now,”  Gabe suggested.  “That way we’re all ready to sit down to eat by three.”

Kali was left to watch the kids while they went into the kitchen to finish up the cooking.

“Does your mate cook?”  Dean asked.

“Sure, but we eat so much Indian food during the year that when holidays like this roll around, I just want some freaking turkey and pumpkin pie, you know?  I’ve been drooling just thinking of Cassie’s turkey.  He makes the best,”  Gabe replied as he helped mash the potatoes.  Dean was mixing in the butter and milk as they talked.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had hot turkey.  Mostly I’ve just had cold turkey sandwiches over the last few years.  I’m looking forward to it.”  Dean smiled at Cas.  “But if there are any leftovers, I’ll take them as sandwiches for lunch to work.” 

“Where do you work?” Gabe asked.

“I work part time at a garage about six blocks from here.  I can fix any car,”  Dean replied proudly.

“Oh really?  Think you can take a look at my car?  It’s making a weird ticking noise.”  Gabe glanced at his brother, who smiled knowingly.  He knew Gabe was trying to be helpful.  Dean nodded eagerly though.

“Sure, I’ll look right after we’re done cooking, but before we eat, that way I can see before it gets dark.”

“Thanks.  My mechanic can’t figure out what the noise is, but then again, he’s also old as dirt and deaf as a post, so maybe you’ll figure it out,”  Gabe said.  “You do good work, I’ll just come to you from now on.”

Dean beamed proudly at that.  “I will though; I’ve never done bad work on a car, not ever.”

“Shall we get started on the lasagna?”  Cas asked.  Dean nodded and went to grab the noodles.

“He’s a good kid.  I like him.” Gabe leaned close to his brother and whispered.

“Don’t let him hear you call him a kid.  I don’t think he’s been one since his mother died when he was 12,”  Cas whispered back.  Gabe frowned.

“That’s awful.”

Cas just raised his eyebrows and gave a little nod because Dean was coming back.

“You sure we don’t have to boil them first?”

“Nope, trick I learned a long time ago, the moisture from the cheese and sauce soaks into the noodles and softens them without breaking them like boiling would do,”  Cas explained as he showed Dean how to start setting up for the pasta dish.  Gabe watched as his little brother walked Dean through making a lasagna from scratch.  They got along well and were forming a great friendship.  That was good; his brother needed more friends.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

After getting the the lasagna into the oven, Dean went out to check on Gabe’s car, and it didn’t take him but five minutes to figure out the source of the problem.  Unfortunately he didn’t have the belt with him to change it out, but he took the money from Gabe and agreed to pick it up the next day, and have Cas drive him over to their house so he could replace it.

Dinner was wonderful, and Dean was proud of his lasagna.  Even Kali had enjoyed a piece.  Ben had eaten a small piece, though he was more excited about the cupcakes Gabe had promised.

“After presents you guys can all have a cupcake,”  Gabe told them.

“Cupcakes!”  His three-year-old, Arin, clapped his hands excitedly.

“Presents!”  Shaina insisted.

“Presents?”  Arin followed her and Ben into the living room, and Dean hurried to get the table cleared while Cas and Kali tried to keep the kids from tearing into every present under the tree.

“Is this Ben’s first real Christmas?”  Gabe asked as he began storing the leftovers.

“Yeah, and he’s really excited.”  Dean glanced into the living room to see Ben showing Arin and Shaina his Captain America shield.  He couldn’t help but smile.

“He’s adorable.”

“Thanks.  Your kids are really cute too.”

“I’m kind of partial to them.”  Gabe shrugged, making Dean laugh.  

“Yeah, I’m kind of partial to Ben too.”

They finished the cleanup and storing of leftovers and joined everyone else in the living room. The first thing Gabe did was plop a package in Dean’s lap.

“What’s this?”

“It’s for you.  Trust me, you’re going to need it.”

“But I didn’t get you anything.”  Dean looked alarmed until Cas placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s ok.  If you like, you can make it up to him at Easter.  Technically it’s celebrating the goddess Ishtar anyway.  Get the kids something.”

“I will. I don’t like receiving gifts without giving something in return.”

“That’s fine by me,”  Gabe agreed.

Dean eyed the package in his lap.  He could almost guess based on the shape what it was, but the weight was confusing him.  

“Open it, Daddy.”  Ben knelt at his father’s feet and waited to see what he’d gotten as a gift.  Dean hooked his fingers in a corner of the paper and tore the paper.

“Can I help?”  Ben asked.

“Of course, sweetheart.”  Dean replied, and let Ben help to shred the paper to pieces.  In the end he was left with the backpack he knew was there, and he unzipped it to find it was filled with notebooks, several packs of loose-leaf paper, a couple of binders, pens, pencils, a simple calculator, a sharpener, and some folders.  He smiled at the thoughtful gesture.  This was all stuff he really was going to need.

“Thank you, I really am going to need this stuff.”

“Whatever you don’t use now, you can save and use for college,”  Gabe said.

“Definitely, or for Ben next year.  I know he’s going to need a lot of stuff for first grade.”  

Gabe pulled a few more gifts out from under the tree and handed them out, and Ben gasped excitedly when one was handed to him.

“I get one too?”

“I had a little birdy tell me that you like cowboy stuff.”

“I  _ love _ cowboy stuff!  I want to be a cowboy when I grow up!”  Ben exclaimed.

“What’s a cowboy?”  Arin asked.

“They’re so cool!  They wear cowboy boots and ride horses and wrangle cows and sheep!”  Ben told him.

“What’s a wrangle?”  Arin wrinkled his nose and looked up at his dad.  Gabe snorted.

“Well, my boy, you weren’t interested in anything cowboy oriented, so I’m passing it on to Ben.  Go on and open it.”  He urged.

Ben ripped eagerly into the paper, bouncing up and down when he saw it was a pair of real cowboy boots.

“Daddy!  Oh, Daddy!  Look!  Daddy!  I love them!”

“Try them on, kiddo.  Make sure they fit.”

“I’m betting they’re a little big.  I bought them big for Shaina, but she hated them.”  Gabe explained as Ben hurried to shove his feet into them.  The pup got to his feet and took a few steps.

“How do they feel?”  Cas asked.

“They feel great!  Can I wear them to school?”

“Uh, sure, but not when it’s snowing, the snow will ruin them,”  Dean replied.  Ben jutted his lip out but didn’t argue.  He sat back down, the boots remaining on his feet.  Cas leaned over to whisper to Dean.

“Those are not coming off for the rest of the night.”

Dean chuckled and nodded.  He was right.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The day was pleasant, even if Kali was somewhat aloof, and Ben ended up with a giant pillow in the shape of a cowboy boot, a 500 piece puzzle with puppies, and a shirt with rhinestones that both Dean and Cas thought was incredibly tacky, but Ben was in love with.  The kids sat around playing with the blocks at the kitchen table and enjoying cupcakes while the adults had slices of pie in the living room.  

After Gabe and Kali left with their brood, Cas began putting away all of his own presents.  He’d mostly received some new sweaters and a few new CDs, and while he worked on collecting everything, he put one of the new CDs on to play.

“What band is that?”  Dean asked as music filled the house.

“The band is called Beartooth.  I like their music, so Gabe bought me one of their CDs.  We’ll see if I like all the songs on it, though,  Cas replied.  

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them.”  Dean said as he began gathering up Ben’s things.  His son had toys now.  The thought made him both happy and nervous.  If something happened, if Cas got angry with them or kicked them out, and they were forced to go back into the shelter, or worse, he’d have to sell all of Ben’s brand new toys, and his son would be heartbroken.  He never wanted to have to see that look on his pup’s face…

“Hey, what happened?”

He looked up to see Cas standing right in front of him, a look of alarm on his face.

“What?”

“You smell scared.  What’s wrong?”

“I just…I was thinking…what if you get mad?  What if you kick us out?  What if I do something that makes you mad one day and you tell us to leave?  I can’t take all of Ben’s new toys to the shelter, they’ll get stolen.  I’ll have to sell them and he’ll cry and I’ll have to see that look of heartbreak on his face, and I can’t  _ do _ that to him, I just  _ can’t…” _

Cas plucked the Captain America shield out of the man’s hands and tossed it on the couch before pulling him into his arms.  He wrapped him up tight and held him until his trembling had stopped.

“I’d like to think we’ve become friends.  Wouldn’t you say we have?”

“Yes, and I don’t have too many of those anymore,”  Dean confessed.

“Well, Dean, friends,  _ good _ friends, they help each other out when they’re in trouble, ok?  And this is me helping you out.  I know you would do the same for me if the situation were reversed.  I will not kick you out.  There is no expiration date on this arrangement, ok?”

“But what if you meet someone and you want to mate with them?”  Dean asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, ok?  I’m not exactly in a hurry, and I don’t exactly have Omegas, or Betas for that matter, eagerly beating down my door, so let’s not worry about ‘what ifs’ like that.  Let’s focus on getting you started on school and getting Ben finished with kindergarten.”  Cas was glad that Dean was calmer when he finally let him go.

“Thank you.  I’m sorry I keep panicking.  It’s just, sometimes this just feels too good to be true, and I keep waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under me.  It’s happened before.”  Dean scratched at the back of his neck and looked over at him.

“I understand that.  I’ve been burned before too, but not this time, ok?  I wouldn’t risk yours or Ben’s future.  Come on, let’s get his things moved up to his room while he’s still distracted.”  Cas nodded towards where Ben was building a tower at the kitchen table with his blocks.  They gathered up all of his other toys and gifts and carried them up to his room.

The bedroom still had two beds as well as two dressers and two bookcases.  Cas was debating on taking down half the furniture and moving it up to the attic so Ben would have more room for his toys.  One bookcase was already becoming quite filled with the books the boy loved to read, and soon he knew the second one would be filled too.  That pleased him very much.

“I should get him ready for bed; he’s had a long day.”

“Good luck getting him out of those boots,”  Cas joked.  Dean shook his head, laughing.

“Yeah, I know.  Your brother is creating a monster.”

“Wait until he wants to take him horseback riding,”  Cas said as he walked out the door.”

Dean’s eyes widened as he followed after him.  “He wouldn’t…”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next month went by swiftly, and soon Ben was back in school.  Then Dean was starting his classes.  He’d expected to struggle after not having been in school for so long, but the material came easily to him and he didn’t struggle with any of it.  The downside was it meant he could only work afternoons and evenings, leaving Cas to watch Ben. Thankfully, the Alpha didn’t mind at all.

Winter faded into spring, and then into summer.  Dean was on summer break too, and taking on a few more hours now at the garage, though not too many more, but he’d picked up a part-time job at the McDonald’s he used to pass time in.  That offered steadier hours than the garage, and better pay as well as other perks, so as much as he loved working at the garage, he stopped working there and picked up more hours at McDonald’s.  

When school picked back up, Ben was put directly into second grade.  He’d received the approval of Cas, the principal, the second-grade teacher whose class he would be moving into, Miss Jody Mills, and Dean.  And oh was the Omega proud of his little boy.  When he wasn’t working or studying, he was spending every spare moment working with his son on whatever he was learning, or helping him learn new material so he continued to stay ahead of the curve.  He continued to impress Cas when, by the middle of second grade, he was already learning at a third-grade level.  

Dean’s graduation was nine months after he’d started, and it felt like he was finished in the blink of an eye.  He was incredibly proud, and for once in his life, he felt accomplished.  When Cas offered to throw him a party, though, he was a little stunned.

“A party?  For me?”

“Well, yes, this is your graduation, don’t you want to invite your friends?”

Dean thought for a moment.  “I guess.  I don’t really have friends at work though.  That’s just…work.  I go there to make money, not socialize.  I’d like to invite my old friends though, the ones that stuck by me and helped me as much as they could when I first had Ben.  Could I invite them?”

“Of course.  Do you have a way to get in touch with them?”  Cas asked.

“Oh, I don’t have their numbers anymore.”  Dean thought for a moment.  He’d bought a pay as you go phone with this job, so the school would always have a way to reach him, but so would Cas.  Really, they were the only two people with his number.

“Well, do you go on social media at all?”  Cas knew Dean was still quite a bit behind on technology for someone so young, but he thought he’d have at least started a Facebook by now.

“No?”  

Cas sighed and held out his hand.  “Why did you bother getting a smartphone if you won’t let it be smart?”

“I like the games.  When I get my lunch break I go sit and play them.”  Dean shrugged as he fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it over.  “They’re talking about promoting me to assistant manager.  That means a pay raise and more hours.”

“That also means time away from your son, remember that.  You still have to make time for college.”  Cas reminded him as he took his phone.  He moved over to the kitchen table and sat down.  Dean sat down adjacent and watched as he downloaded the Facebook app.

“You know, this is probably your best chance of finding your brother, too.  He’s probably on here.”

“Really?  You think so?”  Dean hadn’t even considered that.  If that thought had crossed his mind he’d have signed up on Facebook at the library years ago!

“Everyone has one nowadays.  Here, I’ll walk you through signing up, then we’ll look for your friends, ok?”  Cas turned the phone so Dean could see the screen better and then walked him through the process to sign up.  It didn’t take long, and then he did a quick profile setup.  He used a picture he’d taken a few days earlier of him and Ben as his profile picture and gave a few minor details.  The one he was the most proud of was putting down that he was a high school  _ graduate _ .

“Who are we looking for?  Give me a name,”  Cas asked.

“Charlie Bradbury.  I doubt she’d go by her full name.”  Dean replied.  Cas typed the name into the search bar.  There were several results.  Dean looked through them all but one stuck out.  The job title stated “Queen of Moondoor”.

“That’s her.”

“You’re certain?”

“Positive.”

They sent her a friend request.

“Ok, next one?”

“Garth Fitzgerald the IV.”

Cas snickered.  “That’s very specific.”

“His father is probably on there too, and maybe even his granddad, and they’ll both use their number after their name.  So Garth added that in after his name,”  Dean explained.  

It took a bit of searching but Cas found the right guy and sent him an invitation.  Dean reeled off the names of a few more people, and Cas sent them friend requests too.  Before he was even finished, Charlie had accepted and was messaging him back.  

“She’s messaging you.  She wants to know where you’ve been and how you are; she’s been worried,”  Cas said as he handed the phone back.  Dean took it back and spent the next few minutes messaging back and forth with her before giving up and just sending her his number and telling her to call him.  When his phone rang, he broke out in an excited grin.

“I haven’t talked to her in three years,” he explained before answering.

Cas smiled as he watched Dean put the phone to his ear.

“Hey, red!”

“Dean Winchester!  What hole did you crawl out of?!  Where the hell have you been?!  What do you mean you’ve been staying with a friend?  What friend?  Where  _ are  _ you?  I miss you!”

Dean laughed happily.  “I miss you too.  I’m in town.  I’m staying with my friend Cas, you don’t know him but he’s a really great guy and he’s done a lot for me and Ben.  I graduated high school, and it’s not a GED, it’s an actual diploma.  He uh, says I can have a party, but I wanted to invite my old friends, so that’s like you and Garth, Benny, Jo, Ash, and I only just got a Facebook today and I’m trying to figure it out. Cas is helping me send out the friend requests and stuff cause I can’t find half you guys.”  

“I can tell everyone to look for you!  If you haven’t found them yet, I’ll send them your way.  I’ll totally come to your party.  When is it?”  she asked.  Dean looked over at Cas.

“When are we doing this party?”

“Well, I think next weekend would be good.  Next Saturday,”  Cas replied.

“Next Saturday.  Think you can help me track everyone down by then?”  Dean asked her.

“Heck yeah, I have everyone’s phone number.  I’ll call everyone tonight,”  she promised.

Cas slipped away, going to check on Ben, who was busy playing with his building blocks in his room and giving Dean some much needed privacy to talk to his old friend.  He found himself wondering idly who Charlie was to the Omega.  Was she an Alpha?  A potential mate now that they were older and more mature?  Would Ben remember her?  

“You want to build with me, Uncle Cas?”  Ben asked.  That was something new the boy had taken to calling him without prompting.  After school had let out for the summer and he knew he no longer had to call Cas “Mr. Novak,” he’d begun calling him Uncle Cas.  Dean didn’t seem to mind it, and he certainly didn’t mind.  

“Sure, what are you building?” he asked as he sat down on the floor across from the pup.

“A rocket ship, but my blocks don’t make the best ship,”  Ben explained.

“Maybe for your birthday we’ll get you some Legos.  The thing about Legos is that they are very small and if you leave them lying around, they get lost, or people step on them and then no one wants to buy you any more, so you need to take even better care of them than these.”  Cas plucked a block out of the pile and pressed it into the misshapen silo form.

“I like Legos.  Daddy told me I can’t have Legos if I can’t clean them up.  He says they’re real expensive.”  

“They are.  I don’t have mine anymore.  Those my mom actually donated to her church when I went away to college, otherwise I would have some for you to play with.”  Cas wished those were something his mother had actually saved.

“I bet kids got to use them, and they were happy,”  Ben said.  Cas smiled.

“I bet you’re right.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dean found them some time later trying to build trains out of the blocks the best they could without wheels, and stood in the doorway just watching them for a long time before he made his presence known.

“Oh, did you reach everyone you needed to?”  Cas asked when he realized Dean was there.

“I reached Charlie.  That was enough.  She’ll reach the rest.”  Dean walked in and sat down between them, picking up a couple of the blocks and fitting them together.  “What are we building?”

“Bullet trains,”  Ben replied.

“Cool,” Dean replied.

“How many people are we expecting?”  Cas asked.

“Not exactly sure yet.  I invited Charlie, Benny, Garth, Jo, and Ash, but Charlie has a girlfriend she wants to bring with, and Garth has a girlfriend that Charlie thinks he’ll want to bring with.  Now, inviting Jo might cause a problem.  She’s the daughter of a friend of the family, and her mama and I had some disagreements back when I had Ben.  She wanted to take custody of my pup, and I refused.  When she threatened to take him, I left.  I’d been staying with her for close to a year at that point, but I said nope.  Anyone that would try to take my child from me did not have my best interest in mind, and I didn’t want her around my son.  I didn’t cut Jo off, exactly, but I asked her not to tell her ma where I was or where I was staying after that.  She respected me, even though it caused a rift between them.  But then things got real rough for me, and I ended up losing touch with Jo too.  She might be mad at me, or she might be relieved. I won’t know til I talk to her.”

“That’s…how could someone want to do that?  Ben is  _ your _ son.”  Cas reached over and placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder.  “I don’t know what people were thinking.  You can’t just take another person’s child away from them because they’re not raising them the way you want the child raised.  I think you do wonderfully with Ben.  You are an amazing father.”

Dean smiled.  He’d come to understand that Cas liked to be affectionate, and that touching was how he expressed emotion, and he no longer flinched or stiffened when the Alpha placed a hand on him like he was doing now.  If anything, it had only proven that after years of no one but Ben to really interact with for more than five minutes at a time, he was craving human interaction, and touch.  

He’d also developed a little crush on the handsome kindergarten teacher, but he didn’t think anything would come of that, so he just kept that to himself.  Friends were hard enough to come by, and he didn’t want to ruin what they had.

“Ellen’s a good woman, she was just misguided, and I wasn’t letting her take my son.  She wouldn’t have kicked me out, but I wasn’t handing over parental rights on how to raise my son to anyone.  He’s my child.  I get final say on how he is raised.  She has completely different views on everything, including not starting teaching until they’re in kindergarten, and just letting the teacher do it, because ‘that’s what they’re paid to do,’ as she says.  She took away the books I was giving Ben when he was one, so he could look through them at the pictures, saying he was too young.  I said he was never too young.  Even now, if she had him and you said he was as smart as he is?  She’d have refused to let him be put ahead.  She’d claim it would put too much stress on him later, but mostly she wouldn’t want to work with him on his homework so he stays challenged.  She never worked with Jo on hers.  She’s an Alpha, and very stubborn.”

“Oh, I suspect that she and I would butt heads.  What is Jo’s orientation?”  Cas asked.

“She’s an Alpha, but nothing like her mother, and while she’s stubborn, she’s a different kind of stubborn.  She’s had an on again, off again relationship with Ash since high school.  He’s a Beta, and her mama does  _ not _ like him.”  Dean chuckled.

“I’m glad I’m not that kind of Alpha.”  Cas sighed as he found two blocks and fit them together.

“I’m glad you’re not, too.”  Dean said, and smiled softly at the Alpha.  Lately he’d been feeling something stirring deep inside whenever Cas smiled back.  This time was no different. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Cas bought chips and soda for the party, but Dean insisted on buying hot dogs and hamburger meat.  He refilled the propane on the grill and got it fired up.  Ben helped with decorations the Alpha surprised Dean by putting up, like balloons and a banner that said “Congratulations Graduate!”  

Guests began arriving at two.  Charlie was the first to arrive, and Cas wasn’t sure why, but he was relieved to learn that she was an Omega, and she arrived with her girlfriend Gilda, a very sweet Alpha who she was clearly in love with.  She hugged Dean tight and cried, and he ended up in tears too.  Then she needed to hug Ben.  He did remember her, mostly for her bright red hair and playing games with her.  Next to show up was Garth.  He was a very friendly and very mellow Beta, and he brought with him the sweetest Omega, his new mate, Bess, and then more hugging commenced.  Jo came next, and Cas found himself momentarily tensing, though he wasn’t quite sure why.  She was sweet, and it was clear Dean was like a brother to her.  It bothered Cas that he was looking at these people like potential threats rather than like the friends they were, and he chided himself repeatedly with each new person that arrived.  That was, until Benny got there.

The Alpha strode in like he owned the place and the moment he laid eyes on Dean, he headed straight for him and pulled him straight into a hug.  When he tried to kiss him too, that’s when Dean drew the line, pulling back and patting the man on the shoulder.

“Good to see you, Benny.  It’s been a while.”

“It’s been too long, Dean.  I thought you were going to come and stay with me.”  

Benny wasn’t moving out of Dean’s personal space; if anything, he was crowding up in the Omega’s space and it was putting Cas on edge.  It was putting Dean on edge too, though his scent wasn’t betraying him, he’d put on his blockers today.  Now Cas understood why.  He didn’t trust himself around Benny.

“No, I was ok.  And I met Cas here.  Me and Cas, we been making it ok, right?”  Dean motioned for the Alpha to come over and when he was within grabbing distance, Dean latched onto him, dragging him close.  “Cas, this is Benny.  I told you about him once or twice.  Benny, this is Cas.”

Benny seemed to be sizing him up, trying to figure out exactly who Cas was to him, but Cas was actually glad Dean wasn’t just introducing him as his roommate for a change.

“It’s nice to meet you, Benny.  Welcome to our home.” Cas smiled sweetly in greeting as Dean tightened his grip on his arm more.

“Nice to meet you too.”  Benny looked confused, and mildly hurt, but Dean was holding on tight to Cas still.  The doorbell rang again, and Dean excused himself to go and answer it.  Cas held his ground as he realized he was being challenged.  Oh no, that wasn’t happening, not in  _ his _ house.  

“Hey, what’s going on?”  Dean snapped, hurrying back over with a skinny guy with a mullet.

“Your  _ friend _ here decided to challenge me.  In  _ my _ house,”  Cas explained, not taking his eyes off of Benny.  Dean growled as he got between them, putting his back to Cas, attempting to defend him from Benny.

“No, you don’t!  You are a  _ guest _ !  This was not an invitation to mate; this was a party invitation!  I consider you a friend, Benny, that’s it, and I wanted my friends here.  Don’t make me regret inviting you, and don’t do this in my home, in front of my  _ son _ !”

Ben was standing by the couch watching them with wide eyes, and the frightened expression on his face was enough to get Benny to back off.  Cas went and picked the pup up, letting the boy snuggle against him.

“Shh, we’re not fighting, it’s ok.”  He rubbed Ben’s back, soothing him and nodding to Dean that he was ok.  Dean still looked pissed at Benny though.

“Knock it off, ok?  I told you three years ago I wasn’t interested.  Nothing has changed.  I’m working on bettering myself and my life.  Ben comes first in everything, and I’m not mating just to temporarily make my life better.  I will only mate for love.”

Cas caught the way Dean glanced briefly in his direction, but so did Benny, and so did Charlie.  She smiled knowingly.  

“Daddy loves Uncle Cas,”  Ben announced.  “Not you.”  

“Ben!”  Dean gasped.  

“Why don’t you go show Charlie your room and all the cool paintings you’ve been putting up in there?”  Cas said, hoping to distract the boy.  “Show her your cowboy collection.”

“I love cowboys!  I want to be one!”  Ben wiggled until Cas put him down.  “Wanna see my cowboy stuff?”

“You mean besides those awesome boots you’re wearing?”  Charlie asked.

“He hasn’t taken those off since he got them for Christmas last year,”  Dean said with an affectionate eye roll.  “They still fit.  Another year or so and they won’t, though.”

“They’re pretty cool, pal.  I like cowboy stuff.  I’d like to see your room,”  Ash said.”

“Ok!  It’s up here.  Daddy says no running though, we have to walk in the house.”  Ben headed for the stairs and most everyone followed, including Benny.  Dean and Cas remained behind.  The moment they were alone, the Omega was turning around apologizing.

“Cas, I’m  _ so _ sorry, I thought he would have given up by now.  I wasn’t trying to use you, really I wasn’t.”

“Dean, relax.”  Cas smiled warmly as he walked back over.  Dean’s scent was leaking through his blockers and once everyone came downstairs, it would be better if he got the chance to go upstairs and reapply them.  He came to stand right in front of the Omega, realizing that this was exactly where Benny had been standing before, but Dean wasn’t bristling like earlier.  He  _ liked _ having Cas in his space.  They always stood close like this, or touched casually when they spoke.  What did that mean?  And what did his jealousy over Benny mean?  Well, he wasn’t stupid, that part he understood, but he doubted Dean wanted him as a mate.  He was just a kindergarten teacher.  There wasn’t a whole lot he could offer as a mate.  Dean tilted his head, frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Something is, you’re sad, I can smell it on you.  Talk to me.”  This time it was Dean that reached out, touching the Alpha’s arm.  It sent sparks shooting through him as it usually did.

“It’s silly, and I don’t wish to ruin your party with my negative thoughts.”  Cas glanced towards the stairs, but no one had come down yet.

“Cas, are you…”  Dean took a step closer, smelling the change in the Alpha’s scent.  “Are you  _ jealous _ ?  I thought I was smelling it earlier, but you were doing a pretty good job of hiding it.”

“I’m not  _ jealous _ , per se.”  The Alpha grumbled as he stuck his lower lip out.  A bright, happy smile lit up Dean’s face.  

“Cas, do you like me?”

“Of course I like you, Dean.  You wouldn’t be living here if I didn’t.”

Dean rolled his eyes and shoved the man lightly.  “You know what I mean.”

Cas sighed and let his arms fall to his side again.  “I don’t want to ruin this.  I can’t offer you want you need.  I’m just a kindergarten teacher.”

Dean licked at his lower lip for a minute as he studied the pained expression on the Alpha’s face.  “And I’m just a homeless kid from Lawrence.  What do I have to offer?”

“Everything, Dean.  You’re beautiful, intelligent, sweet, hardworking, a wonderful father, my best friend in the world…”

Dean nodded.  “And why can’t you see the good in you too?  It’s not about money, Cas.  It’s never been about money.  You were kind to me and offered me friendship when others would have just spat on me and stepped over me.  You’re my best friend too.  Yeah, at first I thought you brought me here just cause you wanted to, you know, knot me or something, but it didn’t take me too long to realize what a good man you are.  You saw something not just in my son, but in me too, and I didn’t know how much I needed that.  I don’t know how others passed someone as amazing as you up, but I don’t want to be stupid like that.  Unless that’s something you don’t want.”

“I do, I want that, you and Ben, I want the whole package,”  Cas said quickly.  He reached out, tentatively placing his hands on Dean’s hips and pulling him closer.  “I fell in love, Dean, with you and with Ben.  So yes, I am jealous.  Is he…Ben’s father?”

“Benny?  God no.  I met him after Ben was born.  Charlie introduced us.  He’s a few years older than me, in case you couldn’t tell.  Ben’s dad was my high school boyfriend who cut his losses the moment I told him I was pregnant.  I’d just lost my dad; I was pregnant, and I had no one.  Literally no one.  I couldn’t lose my pup, too.”

“I understand.  Ben’s not going anywhere, and neither am I, ok?  You’re sort of stuck with me, if that’s ok.”  Cas leaned in a bit, not sure if Dean would be ok with a kiss.  Dean smiled wide.

“Heck yeah, I’m ok with that.”

He closed the distance, kissing Cas soundly before the sound of footsteps descending the stairs could be heard.  They stepped back just before everyone came back.

“He has a heck of a lot of talent for only seven,”  Gilda said.

“He’s improving all the time.  We’ve been working on his technique.  He really likes to paint trains,” Cas explained. "I bought him an art set last Christmas, but by Easter we had to replace most of the paints.  He loves to paint.”

“He’s actually using those thin canvases now, and I’m framing them to put up.”  Dean pointed at several paintings that hung on the living room walls.

“Oh, I thought those were expensive abstracts or something.”  Garth chuckled.

“No, just more of Ben’s work.”  Cas grinned.

“They’re really good.”  Bess smiled sweetly at the little boy, who was beaming.

“Daddy, I got you a present!  I want you to open it!  Is it time to open presents?”  Ben was bouncing up and down excitedly around his father.

“You did?  A present?”  Dean asked, smiling.  

“Yes!”  The boy exclaimed.

“I think we can open presents,”  Cas said.  “Go get yours out of my office.”

Ben hurried to get his present and then he was back, thrusting it into his father’s hands.  Dean went to sit on the couch and his son came to perch on the seat beside him as he opened the paper.

“What did you get me?”  Dean asked, smiling at the little boy.

“Uncle Cas showed me how to trade in my old books and get some money so I saved up five whole dollars, Daddy!”

“That’s a lot of money, kiddo.”  Dean was impressed.  How many books had his son traded in?

“That’s what Uncle Cas said too.  He says I read a lot but I’ll get lots of new books, so I’m not sad about getting rid of the old ones.  They weren’t fun to read anymore.”

Dean tore the paper off and grinned wide when he saw a pretty brand-new looking messenger bag.  He knew Cas must have taken Ben up to Goodwill, probably on half price Saturday, to get it, and his son has spent his own money on it.  That made the gift even more special.  He felt the tears stinging his eyes as he ran his hand over the front.  

“This is going to get a lot of use, sweetheart.  Daddy’s going to college, and I’m going to get a really, really good job so we have lots of money.”

“Are we going to leave when we have money?  I don’t want to leave.”  Ben looked and smelled scared.  Dean pulled his son forward and kissed his forehead.

“No, honey, we’re not going anywhere, this is our home, right here, with Cas.”

“Yay!”  Ben exclaimed.

“Got room for more presents?”  Charlie asked as she waved an envelope in his face.  “This one is a group one from all of us.  Cas told us you were heading to college and there’s something everyone that’s heading to college is going to need, so we all pitched in to make sure you get one.”

“What’s that?”  Dean asked as he took the envelope.  Cas had come to sit down on the other side of Ben and pulled the pup into his lap.  They were both watching as Dean opened the envelope and pulled the card out.  Inside was a gift card and a message as to what it was to be used for.  

“You-”  He looked up in shock.  “You’re getting me a computer?!”

“You’re going to need one for college, brother.  It’s sort of a necessity.  You might even be able to get away with doing some of your courses remotely,”  Benny replied.

“What does that mean?  Remotely?”  Dean asked.

“From home,”  Cas explained.  “And no, that doesn’t mean pick up more hours at work so you can do school from work.  Your grades will suffer if you do that.  You need to balance properly, just like you did with school this year.  It’s tempting to pick up more hours at work, trust me, I tried it when I was in college and it about killed me.  Don’t do it.”

“He’s right.”  Charlie agreed.  Garth and Benny both nodded.

“Thank you, guys, this means a lot.  I don’t know how to pick out a computer though.  I barely know how to use one.  The ones at the library were ancient, and I only get on Cas’ once in awhile.  Maybe I should take some computer classes.”  Dean sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes.  He smiled when Cas reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

“That’s a good idea, but I can take you computer shopping, that’s not a problem,”  Charlie said.  “I also have one more surprise.”  She looked over at Garth and Jo, who both nodded excitedly.

“What kind of surprise?”

Charlie pulled her phone out to check the time.  “The kind that is supposed to arrive in ten minutes.  Why don’t we get this wrapping paper cleaned up and you can get the grill fired up?”

“Sounds good, I’m starving,”  Dean said.

“I have my present to give you still.”  Cas pulled a small box out of his back pocket and handed it over.  Dean eyed it curiously before taking it.  When he opened it, his eyes snapped up to meet the Alpha’s.

“Cas!”

“Yes, Dean?”

“Cas!”

“Yes, Dean.”

“Oh, my God!”

“No, it’s just me, Dean.”

Ben giggled and Cas grinned.

“What is it?”  Charlie asked.

“He got me a  _ car _ !”  Dean exclaimed before whirling on the Alpha again.  “How the hell did you manage to get me a  _ car _ ?!”

“Well, I went back and talked to Rob and I told him how well you’re doing, and that you’ll be needing transportation soon for college, and how I was looking to get you something, a fixer upper that you could spend a few months repairing before the new school year started.  Trust me, you might not be thanking me when you see it.  It’s in the garage.”

Dean shot up off the couch and ran through the living room and into the kitchen.  When he reached the door that led into the garage, he slowed and took a deep breath.  His friends, son, and even Cas had all followed, everyone waiting expectantly.  He opened the door and flipped on the light.

Sitting on the other side of Cas’ Toyota Corolla was an Impala.  She was in bad shape, but fixable, and he knew exactly how to put her back together.  As long as he could get the engine running, the body could be repaired later.  He turned around and laid a firm kiss on the surprised Alpha’s lips.

“Thank you, for this, for everything.  You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, besides Ben.”

Cas offered up a huge, gummy smile, his scent radiating love and happiness more than it ever previously had.  “I feel the same way.”

“Can we go for a ride, Daddy?”  Ben asked.

“Not yet, buddy.  First we have to heal her and put her back together.”  

“Can I help?”

“You sure can.”

“May I help too?  I would like to learn,”  Cas asked.  Dean reached back to take his hand, squeezing it gently.

“You sure can.”

Back in the house the doorbell rang.

“I think you should get that,”  Charlie said.

“Yeah, my party, my guests,” he agreed, though he didn’t remember inviting anyone else.  Hopefully Ellen hadn’t invited herself.  He wasn’t quite ready to deal with her just yet.  Charlie, Cas and everyone else had followed him back inside but only Charlie and Cas had actually followed him into the living room and were waiting for him to open the door.  As he did, he caught the heavy Alpha scent of cedar and apples.  There was something familiar about it.  He found himself looking up into a pair of hazel eyes he almost didn’t recognize.  The last time he’d looked into them, they’d barely come to his shoulder.

“Sammy?!”  he cried.

“Dean!”  

They jumped at each other, hugging one another tight as they both burst into tears.

“I’m guessing this is Dean’s younger brother, Sam.”  Cas looked over at Charlie who nodded.

“Yep.  I found him on Facebook a couple years back.  He was looking for Dean, but since Dean didn’t have a Facebook or a phone, and even I had lost touch with him, I had no way to put him in touch with his brother, until Dean friended me out of the blue on Facebook  _ finally _ .  I want to thank  _ you _ for that.  As soon as I got off the phone with Dean, I called Sam and told him I’d talked to Dean and we decided to surprise him.  He knew he was an uncle, and he knew Dean was struggling for a long time, but not the full extent.  I didn’t know about you guys.  That’s a surprise to me.”  She quirked an eyebrow and grinned.  He laughed and shrugged.

“Yes, well, I fell in love.  I feel lucky in that he loves me too.”

“Ben!  Ben!  Come here!  Meet your Uncle Sam!”  Dean motioned eagerly for his son to hurry over, but the pup wrapped himself around his father’s leg and peered up at his uncle shyly.

“Hi, Ben, it’s nice to finally meet you.”  Sam was still pretty much a kid too, and had the same youthful genes that Dean did.  He looked so young.

“Daddy told me all about you.  He says you read lots of books when you were a little boy and he says I’m real smart like you.  I can’t do cal…cal…”  

“Calculus,”  Cas gently prompted.

“Yeah, I can’t do it yet, but I can do algebra!”  Ben exclaimed.

“Algebra!  Whoa, you’re what, six?  Seven?  How are you doing algebra already?”  Sam asked, clearly surprised.  “I wasn’t even doing algebra that young!”

“He’s a math and science prodigy.  Cas here is working to help him absorb as much knowledge as he can handle.  He’s already set to skip another grade next year.  He already skipped first, and now he’s going to skip third,”  Dean said proudly.  

“Wow, that’s amazing.”  Sam wiped a tear from his eye.  “I’m sorry I missed out on so much.  He’s so big.  Mom and Dad would have loved him.”

“You think?”  Dean placed a hand on his son’s back and looked down at him.  Sometimes when he looked at Ben, he saw his own father looking back at him.  

“Definitely.  You were their son, and they would have loved and spoiled him.”  

Dean managed to get the front door closed and brought his brother over to Cas.

“Sammy, this is Cas.  Cas, this is my little brother, Sam.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sam,”  Cas said as he shook the young man’s hand.  

“It’s nice to meet you too.  You were Ben’s kindergarten teacher, right?”

“That’s right.  I was privileged to witness how brilliant he already was, and how much his father had already taught him before he ever started in my class.  I dare say, I’ve learned a few things since Ben came into my life.  He keeps me on my toes, and he keeps me learning.”  Cas winked at Ben, who giggled.

“Where were you?  Where did you go after Dad died?  I couldn’t keep you, and they scared me when I overheard them saying they were going to take my pup from me. It’s why I ran.  Did you get my note at least?”  Dean asked.

“Yeah, I got it.  I went into the foster care system for a bit, but then Bobby got me out.  He applied, got approved, and eventually he adopted me.  We didn’t know where you were.  If you’d stayed around he wanted to adopt you too, and he wasn’t going to make you send Ben away.  He got mad at the social worker, blew up at her and told her it was her fault for saying that, and that’s why you ran away.  Man, we’ve been looking for you for years.  He’s on his way here too.  I couldn’t wait though, I got here this afternoon.  He’ll be here tonight.  I was telling him what Charlie told me that you had told her, but I get the feeling you didn’t tell her everything.”  Sam gave his brother a look, something Cas got the feeling he used to do when he was younger to pull the truth out of Dean.

“No, I didn’t.  So the reason I lost touch with everyone, Charlie and everyone included, was because I felt like I was being a burden.  I didn’t want to mate just for the sake of mating, and that’s what it felt like I was being pressured to do,”  Dean looked pointedly at Benny, who looked away in shame.  “And I was hearing parents saying that I was being lazy, or a leach, and that’s not what I was wanting to do.  I just…I had a tiny pup, and finding full-time work when I had no one I could trust to watch him that didn’t want something from me in return, was next to impossible, so I decided to stop relying on you guys for a couch to sleep on or the occasional meal. I learned how to get food from the pantries and soup kitchens, clothes from donation centers, churches, and second hand stores, and I even managed to get a part time job fixing cars.  We stayed at a shelter for homeless Omegas because I felt I was a burden to you guys, and I didn’t want to be.  At the same time I was stuck in a cycle I didn’t know how to get out of, and it felt like I was suffocating slowly.  That’s about the time Cas came into our lives.

“When Ben started kindergarten, I tried picking up more hours at the garage but they didn’t have more hours to give me.  I was literally sitting at a McDonald’s nursing a cup of coffee while he was at school, or picking up food at one of the pantries, and then making the walk back to the school to get him.  We’d go to the library or the McDonald’s to do his homework and kill time before the shelter would let us in.  On the nights it filled up too fast and we couldn’t get a bed, I had a storage unit that was heated and we’d sleep there.”

“Oh, Dean…”  Charlie wrapped him up in a hug.  “My mom was a jerk.  I know it was her you heard saying that.  She had no right.”

“I didn’t want to be a burden.  I just wanted to make my own way,”  Dean said as he hugged her back.  “I’m doing that now.”

“I’m sorry if I chased you off,”  Benny said.  “I never meant to make you feel like you owed me anything.”

Dean shrugged when Charlie stepped back.  “My son has always come first, and that wasn’t in his best interest.  It wasn’t in mine either.”

“So you and Cas…”  Sam motioned between his brother and the Alpha, and Dean smiled as he went over and slipped an arm around Cas’ waist.

“Cas was teaching Ben, and he was very observant.  He noticed more than just the fact that my son was really smart.  He saw his clothes, his backpack from one of the churches that they give to the homeless and low-income kids, and that winter, when the temperatures got really bad, he noticed I was coming to pick Ben up without a coat of my own. Three weekends in a row I’d tried to get one from the donation center, but they hadn’t had any, so I was stuck wearing a flannel and my spring jacket.  Cas refused to let me talk my way out of things, and Ben let it slip that we were staying at a shelter.”

“I insisted that they come home and stay here.  They were cold, hungry, and they both needed a good night’s sleep in a place that didn’t have 40 other people trying to sleep in the same room with them, and where their belongings weren’t going to be stolen.  I fed them, let them shower, and told them they could stay as long as they wanted.  From there I helped Dean get his high school diploma.  He has done nothing but work extremely hard for himself and for Ben.  Everything he does, it’s to make things better for his son.  He now has a bank account and is saving money, and he’s helping to pay bills here while saving for his college courses.  We’re also putting a budget aside for Ben’s college tuition because as much as he wants to be a cowboy, he also wants to be a doctor.”  Cas’ arm came around Dean’s waist, pulling him close.  

“But you’re not mated?”

Cas looked at Dean, who was smiling.  He smiled back.  “Dean insists on mating for love, and that the person he mates with full well knows that it’s a package deal with him and Ben.  I love them both and want them both in my life, for the rest of my life.  We’ll get there when we’re ready.”

“Cas here thought no one would want him because he’s a kindergarten teacher but I think he’s the best guy in the world, and…I love him.”  Dean smiled even wider.

“I love Cas too.”  Ben slipped in between them, hugging them both.

“We love you too, honey, very much.”  Cas ruffled his hair and felt his heart swelling with love.  He had the family he’d always wanted, and Dean had his brother and friends back in his life.  This was the happiness he’d always known was out there, and now he had it, right here, in his arms.  It felt amazing.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading!


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